The Weakest Link
by ShadowsOnTheMoon
Summary: "You were never the weakest link." Emily has always felt like she isn't good enough, but when -A begins to target her she gets a chance to prove her strength. Will she be able to make the right choice and protect her friends? Or will she fall prey to their tormentor and become her own undoing? [Eventual Hannily.]
1. The Deal

**I've been working on this for a few days now, and I was going to wait until I'd finished before I published it. BUT I'm getting easily distracted at the moment, so I'm hoping if I see people are liking the story, I might find some more motivation and be able to finish it.**

**So. About the story. It's set towards the end of season three. Spencer's lost her mind (or has she?) and is in Radley. Toby is dead and gone (or is he?). Ezra and Aria broke up (or did they? Yes, they did) after they found out about Malcolm, and Aria has subsequently started dating Jason. Hanna and Caleb are on a break, and he's in California visiting his mother. Emily is dating Paige, but there will be eventual Hannily.**

**Annd, here we go...**

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_You were never the weakest link._

Emily drums her fingers on the steering wheel and listens to Aria's words play over and over again in her head. When they'd tried to catch –A, back before they'd known about Mona and Toby, they'd made a plan to make –A think Emily was the weakest link, that she was turning against her friends in order to save herself. It had worked because everybody knew Emily _was_ the weak one, although nobody had the heart to tell her that to her face. And now after all she'd been through, with Maya and Nate and everything else, of course she was still weak.

But Aria had told her that she wasn't the weakest link. She never had been. It had been Spencer the whole time. Spencer who had been ready to snap, who just needed the right event to catalyse her breakdown; and that event had come in the form of her finding Toby's body in the woods. It wasn't fair of Aria to say that about Spencer. Who wouldn't break down after finding their lover's dead body?

She pulls into the parking lot, turns off the engine, and sits for a few minutes. She glances at herself in the mirror and hopes that she doesn't look as bad as she thinks she does, but applies some more mascara and touches up her lipstick just in case. Finally she works up the courage to get out of the car.

As she hurries across the parking lot she pulls the hood of her jacket over her head. It's quite chilly today, and she's starting to wish she'd brought some gloves. Just as she reaches the door it opens from the inside and somebody steps out. She almost crashes into them, but dodges at the last minute, mumbles an apology, and ducks through the door without looking at them.

Once inside she takes off her jacket, slings it over her arm, and walks over to the desk to sign in. As she's filling out the form a familiar voice catches her attention. The pen slides from her grip as that voice is followed by another familiar one. She shoots a glance at the receptionist, who's talking to a doctor on the other side of the room, and then she walks up to the door and peers through the window.

Spencer is sitting in a chair near the piano, looking worse than when Emily last saw her; she looks tired, defeated, nothing like the Spencer she knows and loves. Sitting across from her is a girl with long dark hair and an unmistakeable voice.

"Spencer -" she says pleadingly, followed by something so soft that Emily can't hear it.

"I said _no_, Mona," Spencer snaps, standing up. "That's the end of it. Go find someone else to torture."

Mona leans back in her chair, crossing her legs and clasping her hands. She gives Spencer a long look, and then she says, "Maybe I will."

Feeling her blood run cold, Emily hurries back to the desk and finishes signing in. The receptionist gives her a name tag, and she's just clipping that to her shirt when Mona walks through the doors. Emily freezes, but there's nothing she can do to keep from being seen.

"Emily!" Mona says brightly. "I didn't know you were coming. Are you here to see Spencer?"

"Yes," Emily says, making sure the unspoken message is clear: _Hurt her, and I hurt you_.

"You're a good friend, Emily." Mona tilts her head like a quizzical puppy, and Emily knows she's coming up with some sort of scheme or plot. "I bet you'd do anything for your friends, wouldn't you?"

"What do you want, Mona?"

"What I want doesn't matter." Mona hands her visitor's pass over to the receptionist, giving her a charming smile. She turns back to Emily, eyes glittering with malice. "But I know what you want."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"You want to keep your friends safe."

Emily steps up to her. "Are you _threatening_ my friends?"

"Oh, no, Emily," Mona says sweetly, not even flinching. "I'm not threatening anyone. I'm just trying to help."

"Why do you think they need help?" Emily asks.

Mona just smiles at her, farewells the receptionist, and heads for the door. Emily looks from the receptionist to the room where Spencer is and finally to the front door. Then she tosses her ID pass onto the counter and dashes after Mona. She catches up to her at the bottom of the steps, and spins her around to face her.

"Mona, what's going on?" Emily lets her nails dig into Mona's arm, just enough to let her know that this isn't a game. "Are my friends in trouble? Do you know something?"

Mona carefully reaches up and breaks Emily's grip. She lets her eyes travel up and down Emily, as if sizing her up. Then she says quietly, "Let's make a deal."

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**Please review and let me know if ****you're enjoying it! Reviews make me all happy and smiley.**


	2. The Accident

**Thank you for the reviews! Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think. :)**

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Her phone is buzzing. She picks it up, slowing down a little as she reads the text. It's from Paige, which makes her heart do a little backflip. But as she reads it, her heart stops back flipping and starts panicking.

**SOS.**

Without hesitation Emily slams on the brakes, spins the car around, and starts speeding off in the other direction. Her girlfriend needs her. Nothing else matters, not even the fact that Mona has just asked her to join the A-Team. Everything pales into insignificance in light of the fact that Paige needs her. Everything else can wait.

She's still ten minutes away from her house when disaster hits, in the form of a small black semi. Before Emily has time to react the other car has slammed into her, sending her own car skidding off the road. She lets out a gasp that turns into a scream, and then her head collides with the steering wheel and she blacks out.

Her eyes flutter open a few times, and through the haze of concussion and the blood that's dribbling down her face, she can see a bit of what's happening as she slips in and out of consciousness. The other driver is running towards her, looking shaken but unhurt. She feels someone tugging at her, unclipping her seatbelt, pulling her from the wreckage. She looks up into a night sky swimming with stars, and then everything goes black again.

She can dimly hear sirens, but she can't open her eyes. She tries to move her hands, feet, anything, but nothing works. Maybe she's lost feeling in them – or maybe she's lost them. It was a pretty nasty crash; it wouldn't be surprising if she'd been seriously injured in it.

Over the top of the sirens she can hear shouting, and she thinks she hears her name at one point. She tries to mumble a response, but the second she opens her mouth she just starts coughing. She manages to roll over, feeling the tiniest bit of relief over the fact that this means she must still have most of her limbs, and spits out some blood.

Someone touches her shoulder gently, and she opens her eyes to see an unfamiliar face. Her hearing appears to have gone, but she reads the person's lips as they ask, _Can you hear me? What's your name?_

No sound comes out, just more blood. The person looks concerned, and a few moments later she feels herself being lifted onto a stretcher and loaded into the back of a blindingly bright ambulance. The ride to the hospital feels like a dream. A very, very bad dream. She closes her eyes, hoping that when she opens them again she'll be back home in her own bed, or snuggled up on the couch with Paige.

But when her eyes do open, she can't make sense of her surroundings. The walls are white, and there are strangers hurrying back and forth between her and a tray full of equipment. Strange beeping noises fill the room, although she can only hear out of her right ear at the moment. She can see the fuzzy lines on the machine next to her bed, pulsing up and down, gradually slowing.

She wonders if she's dying, and then she wonders if that would be such a bad thing. But then she thinks of her friends, of Aria and Hanna and Spencer, of Paige and her mother and her father, of all these people who need her and love her. She even thinks of Alison.

She pictures her friend, with her flowing blonde hair and her bright eyes and that shimmery halo that's always around her head. She blinks, and the image doesn't fade. She sees Alison standing by her bed, watching her with an expression that's a cross between confusion and concern.

"Emily?" Alison says. "Emily?"

She tries to respond, but before she can one of the doctors walks in front of her, shattering the illusion. When the path clears again, Alison's gone.

Not even trying to make sense of anything that's happening, Emily closes her eyes and allows herself to fall into oblivion.

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	3. The Abnormality

**Thanks for the reviews, guys. Keep 'em coming. And enjoy the next chapter. :)**

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The room comes to her in bits and pieces. First she sees a vase full of flowers, then a leftover clipboard on the table, then the heart monitor by her bed. The longer she lies there, the more she begins to feel. At first it's just physical – the slight twinge of the drip in her arm, the aching of her neck, the throbbing in her head – but then the emotions start to kick in, and they're even worse.

With the emotions comes a barrage of questions. Was Alison really there? Did Aria and Hanna know that Emily was here? Did her parents, for that matter? And was Paige okay?

It's only when a kindly old doctor knocks on her door and enters the room with a friendly smile on his face that the most obvious question of all hits her: Am _I_ okay?

"Good morning, Emily," he says gently.

"Morning?" she mumbles, pulling herself into a vaguely-upright position. Has she been here all night?

He makes a note on his clipboard, then tucks the pen into the pocket on his coat and asks, "Do you know what your name is?"

She swallows, the pain of which makes her wince. "Emily," she croaks. "My name is Emily Fields."

He asks her a series of other questions, ranging from her birth date and the subjects she's taking to who's president and what the date is. She answers all of them slowly but apparently satisfactorily, because finally he nods and sets the clipboard down.

"We can probably rule out amnesia," he says, "which is rather surprising given the severity of the crash."

"The other driver," Emily says, her voice hoarse. The doctor hands her a glass of water, which hurts to swallow but does make her feel better. "Are they okay?"

"Yes. They were released earlier this morning with just a small concussion and a few bumps and bruises." He balances his glasses on the bridge of his nose and looks at her. "You, on the other hand, will probably have to stay a few days."

"Does my family know I'm here?"

"Your mother has been notified," he informs her. "She'll probably be here soon, actually."

She leans back a little, frowning as pain shoots up her back. The doctor, noticing her expression, gives her a sympathetic smile.

"There wasn't any serious damage," he tells her. "Count yourself lucky. We thought you might have broken a couple of ribs, but x-rays ruled that out. You've just got a few sprains, a possible concussion, and some cuts and scrapes."

"If it's nothing serious, why am I being kept here?"

When he doesn't answer, all manner of unpleasant scenarios start running through her head. She can't keep up with any of them, and she doesn't want to. She lets them sprint past her, forcing herself not to latch onto any of them. Whatever is wrong, the doctor will tell her. And chances are it's not that serious anyway.

"Doctor?" she presses.

"We noticed something… abnormal," he begins, delicately picking his words like he's picking his way down a rocky cliff. "It may be nothing, but we'd like to do some more tests."

She opens her mouth to protest, to ask what the heck is going on, but he cuts her off.

"It's probably nothing to worry about," he assures her. "Just sit tight."

At that point he glances out the window and a wave of relief washes over his face. He's saved having to answer any more questions by the arrival of Emily's mother, who dashes into the room and wraps herself around her daughter.

"Oh, baby," she says tenderly.

"_Mom_," Emily says, disentangling herself from her.

"I'm sorry!" her mother yelps, seeing the look of pain on her daughter's face.

"It's okay." Emily rubs her neck, which still feels stiff. "The doctor said it's nothing major. He -"

She looks around and realises that the doctor slipped away during their reunion. She turns back to her mother; the look on her face is enough to convince Emily not to mention anything about the abnormality. There's no sense worrying her, especially since Emily doesn't even know if there's anything _to_ worry about.

"How are you feeling?" her mother asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine, Mom," Emily says wearily. She's glad her mother's here, but talking to her seems to be taking a lot out of her. She feels exhausted already.

Sensing this, her mother excuses herself to go pick them up some snacks and hot drinks. By the time she gets back, Emily is fast asleep. Her mother smiles, tucks the sheets around her daughter, and then settles down in the chair across the room to watch over her little angel.

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	4. The Wait

**And, because I didn't post a chapter yesterday, here's an extra one today. This chapter kind of gives a bit of a hint at the Hannily that will come up in later chapters; it IS coming, I promise!**

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Although her head feels like it's about to explode, Emily makes an effort to smile as Aria and Hanna sit down in the chairs beside her bed and offer her various feel-good gifts like chocolate and flowers. She puts them all on the table beside her bed and looks at her best friends. If only Spencer were here. And Paige. As she thinks of her girlfriend, her heart stops. She hadn't been able to reply to the SOS that night, and her phone had been wrecked in the crash. She'd used the hospital phone to try to call her, but there'd been no answer. What had happened?

"How are you, Em?" Aria asks, squeezing her hand.

"I'm fine." She squeezes back. "I should be out of here tomorrow or the day after."

Hanna pulls a pile of papers out of her bag and sits them on the bed. "Here's your homework for the day."

Emily raises an eyebrow.

"What? I could be studious," Hanna protests. "Since Spencer's not here, I thought someone should play devil's advocate. School's important and, you know, whatever."

Emily smiles. "Thanks, Han."

A moment of silence passes, and she knows their minds have all gone to the same place.

"How is Spencer?" she asks, not sure she's ready to hear the answer.

"She's doing okay," Aria says. "We went and saw her today."

"She misses you," Hanna adds. "We told her about the accident; one of the cards is from her."

Emily looks at the collection of cards and picks Spencer's out immediately: it's the most sophisticated, the most tasteful. "Does she know when she'll be out of there?"

"Probably tomorrow," Aria replies. "If you're still here then we can all come and visit."

"I'd like that." She hesitates. "You guys haven't heard from Paige, have you?"

The girls look at each other.

"No," Hanna says. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." Emily looks down at her hands, worried that if she meets her friends' eyes she might start crying. "Last night she sent me a text. She needed my help. That's where I was going when -"

Too late. She tries to wipe the tears away but they're coming too quickly. She feels arms around her and closes her eyes, leaning into Aria's embrace. A moment later she feels Hanna on her other side.

Through her tears she mutters, "What if something happened to her?"

"Shh," Aria whispers. "She'll be okay."

As the tears begin to subside Hanna gets up and goes over to her bag. "Here, Em," she says, typing away at her phone. "I'll text her right now. Then once she gets back to me you'll know she's okay, and maybe you can get some proper rest."

"You look like you need it," Aria says.

Emily glares at her, mock-offended.

"You know what I mean." Aria rolls her eyes.

"Sent," Hanna announces, and sits down to wait. After a few minutes she shifts uncomfortably in her chair and then tries in her very unsubtle way to change the subject. "So Em, I was reading this new article in _Vogue_ the other day. There's this cute hairstyle that I think would really suit you. I was thinking we could try it when you get out of here?"

Although Emily is totally uninterested in the subject, she appreciates the effort. "That sounds great, Hanna."

For the next half an hour Aria and Hanna take turns picking superficial topics of conversation to try to take attention away from the fact that Paige hasn't replied, but Emily isn't fooled. With every minute that ticks slowly by, she feels her heart begin to ache a little bit more. She remembers being in that cabin with Nate, watching him threaten Paige, being so sure they were both going to die. She had killed him in self-defence, but she would have killed him just for hurting Paige. She would do anything for her, but what is she supposed to do now?

A pasty nurse pokes her head in the door. "Hi girls," she says, sounding like she's had a few too many cigarettes. "Visiting hours are ending now, so you're going to have to head on home."

She leaves, and Aria turns to Emily. "You going to be okay?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" she replies, but her voice softens as she registers the concern in her friends' faces. "I'll be fine, guys. Paige is probably just busy with swim practice or something."

"I'm sure she is," Hanna assures her. "We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?"

They each hug her, and Hanna gives her a quick, comforting kiss on the cheek, and then they leave her alone to her thoughts and fears and the nightmares that start the second she closes her eyes.

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	5. The Diagnosis

**I got such a positive response from my last chapter that I was moved to post the next chapter a little earlier than I'd intended. Keep the reviews coming, they really make my day.**

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The nightmares don't stop when she wakes up. She lies in her bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to stop the flood of images coursing through her mind. But all she has to build dams with are a few feeble threads of hope, which do nothing to stem the flow. Her mother visits her after breakfast, but she's on her way to work so it's a quick stop. They talk about the weather and hospital food and all sorts of things that don't matter, and then she leaves with a promise to come back as soon as she finishes.

As soon as she's gone Emily slumps back in her bed, trying to hold back the tears. The accident, Spencer's breakdown, Toby's death, Paige's possible disappearance, it all adds up to one huge mess. She remembers a while ago, when Spencer was having trouble with algebra; she said that she knew there had to be a logical answer, that everything would work out in the end, but when you looked at each individual number it just seemed confusing, and when you tried to put them together they didn't seem to fit.

That's how Emily feels right now. Everything feels like it should be okay, and maybe she could even deal with one or two 'numbers': she could cope with Toby's death if she had Paige with her, or she could help Spencer through her breakdown if she wasn't still reeling from the incident with Nate. But with everything happening at once, she was just finding it hard to deal with anything. All of the numbers blurred until she was looking at a life that should be familiar but that just looked alien.

"Good morning," says a bright British voice.

She sits up and watches as Dr Wren Kingston walks into the room. He smiles at her, and she gives him a half-hearted one in return.

"Hi Wren," she says. "I didn't know you were on today."

"I wasn't supposed to be," he says, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her bed. "But one of the other doctors had a family emergency so I got called in at the last minute."

She nods, unsure what else to say. But as the silence stretches on she begins to take note of how he's sitting: hands clasped, head slightly bowed, fiddling with his pen.

"What is it?" she asks, dreading the answer.

For once he doesn't try to convince her that it's nothing, or that he shouldn't be telling her anything. He's her doctor, and she knows he has bad news.

"Wren, just tell me," she urges.

Finally he looks up, tapping his pen on the edge of the clipboard, and meets her eyes. "We ran a few tests after you were admitted," he begins slowly. "Some of them were specific to the car accident, just making sure nothing was too badly injured. But some of the tests were more general, things like liver and kidney function."

Here he stops, the tapping becoming more insistent. Emily reaches over and puts her hand over the pen just to stop the noise, and then she squeezes his hand a little. She can tell he's stressed, and how the heck is she meant to stay calm when her doctor is freaking out? She hopes he can't tell how badly her hand is shaking as she draws it away and starts fiddling with her hospital bracelet.

"We found something unusual," he says at last. "Your kidney function seems… impaired."

"Impaired?" she echoes, confused. "What do you mean?"

He looks down, pretending to contemplate his chart, but Emily knows he's just stalling. When he meets her eyes again, there's real concern there. "Emily, have you been taking steroids again?"

Her heart stops. It's not because she has been taking any, but because she remembers the last time she was accused of this. It had been a setup, and –A had caused her to end up in hospital with an ulcer. But she'd stopped using that cream long ago, so there was no way they could still be infecting her – was there?

"Emily," Wren prompts when she doesn't respond. "As your doctor I need to know. It's okay to say if you have. I won't hold it against you. But it could help me to help _you_."

"I haven't," she says weakly.

He consults his charts again. "This kind of damage probably comes from prolonged use. We didn't notice it last time, which implies that the problem has been… ongoing."

"Wren, I'm not taking any steroids," Emily says. "Really. I wouldn't – I'm not."

He surveys her, his features once again calm and his manner professional. He gives her a curt nod. "Very well. I'll come back later to check on you, okay?"

"Sure." She doesn't look at him as he leaves, and as soon as he's gone she throws her pillow across the room in frustration, then wishes she hadn't because she'd really like to scream into it right about now.

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	6. The Look

**I'm glad so many of you are liking this story. The next chapter will be up very soon, so keep an eye out.**

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Time loses all meaning here. Emily drifts in and out of something that passes for sleep, although each time she wakes up she feels less rested than she did before. After lunch she flicks through the cards, smells the flowers, and reminds herself that with her friends by her side she can get through anything. She's not quite sure she believes it, but it's a comforting thought nonetheless.

Her mother drops by after work, and they spend some time browsing through magazines and talking about fashion and food and other things that Emily can't bring herself to care about. Her mother's been there about an hour when Aria and Hanna show up.

"I'll leave you girls to it," her mother says, standing up.

"You don't have to leave -" Aria protests.

"It's fine." Her mother smiles at the girls, and then at her daughter. "She needs her friends right now. I'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

Emily nods, waiting until her mother leaves before she asks the question she's been dying to find the answer to.

"Well?" It's all she needs to say.

And her friends don't even need to reply, because the look they give each other says it all.

Emily feels her heart drop into her stomach. "She didn't reply?"

Aria sits down on the end of her bed. "Em, it's only been a day," she says.

"Yeah." Emily scowls, furious with herself. "A day since she sent me an SOS that I never replied to. A day since she needed me and I let her down completely."

"Emily." Hanna's voice is firm as she settles herself on the bed beside her. "This is not your fault. You were on your way to see her, and there was no way you could've known what was going to happen."

There's logic in the argument, but Emily refuses to let herself see it. Blaming herself may not be productive, but it feels good in a destructive way. If she can't be out there looking for her girlfriend, if she can't actually help her, then blaming herself will have to do.

"Any news on Spencer?" she asks, hoping to change the subject.

"Melissa says she'll definitely be home tomorrow night," Aria informs her, the edges of her mouth twitching as if she's almost about to smile.

Emily notices. "Aria, you can smile. You can be happy that Spencer will be home. You don't have to be sad on my account, because of Paige. Believe me, I'm sad enough for all of us."

Aria ducks her head, but she doesn't let herself smile. "She's doing better," she says. "She's really worried about you though."

"We all are," Hanna adds, rubbing Emily's shoulder.

Emily shrugs her off with barely suppressed irritation. She doesn't want to talk about her. She doesn't want to answer questions or assure her friends she's okay. She just wants this nightmare to end.

Hanna looks hurt, and moves almost imperceptibly a little further away.

"I'm going to be okay," Emily says. She considers mentioning what Wren said, but then decides against it. Her friends are worried enough without her adding fuel to the flames. She's about to say something suitably breezy when she catches sight of someone in the hall. She has just enough time to recognise who it is, and for the shock to register on her face, before they're gone.

"Em?" Aria asks, turning to look down the now-empty hall. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," she says. "I'm really tired though, guys."

"Of course." Hanna jumps up at once, clearly worried she's exhausted her friend. "We should leave you to get some sleep."

"Thanks." Emily pulls the covers up as if she's getting ready to sleep. "I'm sorry I'm not great company."

"You're fine, Em," Aria says, reaching over to hug her. "You've been through a lot."

"We'll be back tomorrow," Hanna promises, hugging her. She holds on just a little too long, as if she's scared Emily will disappear if she lets go. She pauses at the door to give her a look that makes Emily shiver. It's a look that says _I know you're holding something back_. It's a look that says _You're not okay and I want to help_. It's a look that says _I love you and I'm worried about you_.

It's exactly the kind of look Emily had hoped nobody would give her. She couldn't handle that kind of sympathy, the kind that borders on pity. It's the kind of look you would give someone who was the weakest link, someone who was made of glass and about to shatter.

She doesn't have time to dwell on it, because a few minutes after her friends leave she gets a much less welcome visitor. She watches as they come into the room, close the door, and sit in a chair across from her.

And she listens as they reveal something that will change her life forever.

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**Things are really about to heat up. Who do you think her visitor is? What's Emily about to find out? Review and let me know!**


	7. The Decision

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Emily pulls the covers closer around her, like she's a little kid hiding from the monsters under her bed. She stares at Mona, who's smiling at her like some kind of venomous snake, and she feels sick.

"What do you mean?" Emily manages to whisper.

Mona leans forward, resting her elbows and her knees, and repeats, "I think I know where Paige is. And if you help me, I can help you find her."

"And if I don't help you?" She feels daring for asking it, but she needs to know.

"Then I can still find her."

The implications of this are quite clear, and they make Emily feel cold to the core. Paige, her Paige, is in trouble. Blaming herself had been the easy way out, but now that she actually has a chance to do something to save her… she should do it, right? No matter the cost?

"You know, I'm actually a little disappointed," Mona says conversationally. "I would've thought that the great Emily Fields would leap at the chance to save her damsel in distress."

"I'm not that ready to throw myself into the fire," Emily says softly. "How do I know that you're telling the truth?"

"You don't," Mona says easily, unabashed. "But I don't see anyone else coming forward to help you find her. So really, I'm all you've got."

The words sound wrong, horrible, but they're the truth. If this is the only way to find Paige, she should do it. She would kill for her, and maybe this is her chance to die for her. If selling her soul to the devil is the way to get her back…

"I'll do it," Emily says.

Mona doesn't react. She doesn't smile, her eyes don't even light up. It's almost like she knows that this was how it was going to play out and was just waiting for her cue.

"There are a few things you need to know," Mona says.

Emily listens, wide-eyed, as she's instructed on how to torture her friends. After what seems like a lifetime Mona stops talking, and Emily lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"You have my number," Mona says, standing up, "so text me if you have any questions. Welcome to the team, Emily."

Unable to think of any kind of reply, unable to even remember her own name or anything besides this moment, Emily just nods and watches her leave. She stares at the wall for a long time after she's gone, and hardly even blinks until there's a knock at her door.

"Hi," Wren says, coming inside and closing the door behind him. "Good news."

_Thank god_, she thinks. "I could definitely do with some. What is it?"

"The kidney damage isn't anywhere near as severe as we thought it would be," he tells her, not even disguising his relief. "We'll need to keep you for observation for another day or so, but the problem should eventually sort itself out."

It's good news, it really is. If she'd been told this an hour ago she would have felt genuinely happy, but now the most she gets is a slight easing of her unhappiness.

"That's great," she says.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his gentle voice washing over her like raindrops over moss.

"Yeah." She forces herself to take a deep breath, to look up and meet his eyes. "I'm just still worn out from everything, you know?"

"That's understandable." He nods knowingly. "You know, I was in a car accident once."

She's not sure why he's telling her this, but she does her best to look interested. He makes his way over to the chair and sits down, seemingly lost in thought. It's a minute or two before he speaks, and then his voice is lower, slower, as if he's not sure he should be talking about this.

"It was a few years ago. I was the one driving." He runs a hand through his hair, then tucks his pen behind his ear. "I was going too fast – not by much, but it was enough – and I came barrelling around a corner. Slammed into a telephone pole."

"Oh gosh. Were you okay?"

"Eventually." There's a seriousness behind his light-hearted tone, but Emily doesn't question it. "I spent about a week in hospital. I actually ended up with a broken arm and a pretty serious concussion. Took me a long time to start feeling like myself again."

"I'm sorry," Emily says. She's not sure it's the right thing to say, but she can't think of anything else.

He shrugs nonchalantly and stands up. "Ancient history," he says airily. "My point is, I know how difficult it is to be in your position. But don't be too hard on yourself. Things happen, people get hurt. We move on. You'll be feeling better in no time."

She recognises that this is an attempt to cheer her up, so she offers him a smile. "Thanks."

He dips his head in acknowledgment. "Sleep tight, Emily."

Like that's even an option anymore.

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	8. The Release

**While I'm on a roll with this I'm going to try to update as often as possible. Please keep reviewing; it helps me find the motivation to keep writing!**

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It's with equal parts relief and trepidation that she watches her mother sign the release forms the next afternoon. She's still meant to be taking it easy, but the doctors don't anticipate any serious consequences. Her mother has even offered to let her take the rest of the week off school, so she can concentrate on getting better. Under other circumstances this would be just what she needed to get better, but given her present situation all the bed rest in the world won't make a difference.

During the drive home she finds her hand drifting to her jeans. Her own phone is tucked into her bra (her mother had bought her a replacement almost immediately after the crash), but her new 'A-phone' is in her pocket. She knows it would make sense to have it the other way around because if her friends came across the A-phone they'd all be in trouble, but she can't stand to have it so close to her. She needs to have it on her, but she doesn't want to touch it if she can help it. But if she loses it, she would lose what could very well be her only chance of finding Paige.

"You've been quiet," her mother remarks as they pull up outside their house.

"I'm just tired," Emily replies, wondering how long she can keep using that excuse before people start getting suspicious.

Her mother hasn't seen through it yet, because she just takes her upstairs, tucks her into bed, and brings her up some tea and soup.

"Mom, I'm not sick," Emily protests, but secretly she enjoys the attention.

"I know that," her mother says. "But I just want you to feel better. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No." Emily takes a sip of the tea, settling back into her fluffy pillows. "This is all I need. Thanks, Mom."

"I'll be right downstairs if you need, okay, honey?"

Although they haven't had the best relationship, Emily and her mother are close. She would love nothing better than to be able to relax in her room, under the care of her doting mother, and just focus on getting better. But she doesn't have time for that. She needs to keep working, keep moving, keep fighting, if she's ever going to save Paige.

A strange beeping sound fills the room, and for a moment she wonders if it's the fire alarm. Then she looks down at her jeans and realises that it's her new phone going off. All the numbers of the A-Team members have been programmed into it, but they've been given code names so she won't be able to tell who's who. There are five members, and she only knows one: Mona, whose codename is Radley. For some reason that makes Emily laugh, but as she reads the message she just received from her the laughter stops immediately.

**Meeting tonight. Come alone to the house on the corner of Hazel and Oak street. 8 pm. See you there, bitches.**

She glances at the clock and is disappointed to see that it's only four thirty. That's just enough time to work herself into a panicked frenzy before she has to go and start her new A-career. She finishes her tea in silence, contemplating. No matter which way she looks at it, her options aren't good. If she wants to save her girlfriend, she has to go against her friends. She has to hide this huge secret from them, and hope to god she doesn't get asked to do something really horrendous. What if to prove her loyalty to the A-Team she has to hurt one of them?

It takes all of her willpower to steer her thoughts away from such things. She's almost managed to compose herself when her bedroom door flies open and Hanna and Aria come tumbling in.

"Why didn't you tell us you were out?" Hanna cries, looking like she wants to hug her.

"Your mother called and asked if we wanted to come over," Aria explains.

Her friends get comfortable on her bed, like they have so many times before. And then they look at her, with that mixture of concern and confusion that's become so familiar to all of them.

"Are you okay, Em?" Aria asks. "You look kind of pale."

Emily puts a hand to her forehead and realises that she's cold and clammy. "I'm still in the recovery stage," she says. "And as for why I didn't tell you, I was going to. I just wanted to rest for a while first."

"We're not interrupting, are we?" Hanna asks, seeming upset by the prospect. She's even half-risen from her seat, like she's ready to dash out of there if she thinks it'll help.

Emily reaches over and grabs her hand, pulling her back onto the bed. "You're not interrupting," she assures her. "I like having you guys here."

For a few minutes they chatter about school and how they all are, and then the conversation comes back around to the thing that nobody seems to want to mention: there are only three where there should be four.

"We visited Spence after school," Hanna says.

"And?"

"She's doing better," Aria tells her.

"Then why isn't she here?"

Aria looks down at her lap, wringing her hands. "She said she needs more time. She's not ready to come home yet."

Emily's not sure what that means. More time for what? What was stopping her from coming home?

"She said to say hi," Hanna offers.

"Did she say when she'll be back?"

Neither of them answer, which in itself is answer enough.

"Anyway," Aria says after a while, and the tone of her voice makes Emily sit up straighter. Something's wrong.

"What is it?" she asks, instantly on alert.

Aria shoots Hanna a glance, but the blond-haired girl holds up her hands to indicate that it isn't her place. "We – I – got a text from –A."

"What did it say?" Emily can barely get the words out. "Aria, what did it _say_?"

She bites her lip, and then she spits it out. "We think –A took Paige."

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**Uh oh. Things are about to get pretty intense...**


	9. The Meeting

**You guys are lovely. Keep up the reviews, I love knowing what you all think.**

**Now, two things before we dive right into this chapter. One, sorry about all the cliffhangers, but if you don't like them, you're probably in the wrong fandom. ;) Besides, they keep you all coming back, right? And two, I'm not all that great coming up with '-A texts', so I apologise for that.**

**Anyway. Enjoy!**

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"What?" Emily leans forward, trying to make sense of what's just been said. She glances down and realises that she's still holding Hanna's hand, but she doesn't let go. "Why do you think that?"

Aria reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone. She hands it over to Emily who silently reads the message.

**Just like her English book, poor little Emily's missing a Paige. If only there was A way to get her back. -A**

Emily falls back against her pillows, closing her eyes and wishing all of this would go away. Mona had promised that she'd help Emily find Paige. But was she the one who took her? Was this all just a setup? She was sure Mona was up to _something_, but… she realises she doesn't have a counterargument. This is exactly like something Mona would do.

"Em?"

She tunes back in reluctantly as she realises her friends are talking to her.

"Are you okay?" Aria says.

Emily gives her back her phone and slowly shakes her head. "Of course I'm not okay," she bursts out. "My girlfriend is missing, and the bitch who's been tormenting us for months is probably behind it. How am I supposed to be okay with that?"

There's more to her frustration than this, but she can't say anything to her friends. Maybe Mona _can_ actually help her find Paige, or at the very least if she works with her it might be enough to keep Paige safe. And if she brings her friends into this it's going to get messy for all of them. It's best to do this alone.

"We'll get her back, Em," Hanna promises, squeezing her shoulder. "Whatever it takes."

"Of course," Aria agrees. "-A wouldn't hurt her. I mean, I don't think she would. Especially if it's Mona. She knows how much Paige means to you, and she knows that if anything happened to her -"

She doesn't finish, but it's clear what she means. If anything happened to Paige, it would break Emily. She didn't think it was possible to feel like this about someone. She hadn't even really felt this way about Maya, although her death had been devastating. She knows that if Paige gets hurt, especially if Emily's the reason for it, then she would just be done. There was no way she could move on from that.

"But what if that's –A's plan?" she asked, her voice dissolving as the tears start. "What if they finally want to break me? I _am_ the weakest link, after all."

Hanna shoots a stern look at Aria, then scoots closer to Emily. "You are not the weakest link, Em," she says firmly. "You've been through twice as much as I have and you're still standing. That's gotta mean something, right?"

_Yeah. It means I've joined the A-Team, betrayed my friends, and I may be the cause for my girlfriend's death_.

She pretends to be receptive to her friends' compliments and reassurances, and eventually, to her great relief, they leave. By that point she has two hours until she has to be at the meeting, and she spends the intervening time staring at the ceiling. She thinks she should be doing something productive – her pile of homework seems to be growing rapidly – but she just can't bring herself to focus on anything. She's so busy being lost in her misery that when she finally blinks and looks at the clock, it's ten minutes until eight.

"Shoot," she mutters, diving out of bed and gathering her things. She hesitates as she considers what she'll need. She's not sure what kind of meeting this is, or what she's going to be required to do. Maybe it's some kind of A-Team initiation ceremony? She shudders at the thought.

Eventually she settles for grabbing her bag, which has most of her essentials, and then heads for the door. As she reaches it she pauses, then dashes back to her bedside table and grabs a pair of scissors. Without giving herself time to think she shoves them in her bag and turns around. If things go wrong, she may need a weapon. And anything's better than nothing, right?

As she's walking down the hall she encounters a slight problem, one that she hadn't even considered. Mentally kicking herself, she prepares for the confrontation.

"What are you doing out of bed, sweetie?" her mother asks, shifting the basket of laundry she's carrying and giving her daughter a sternly sympathetic look.

"I – uh." _Think, Emily, think_. "Is it okay if I stay at Aria's tonight?"

"Are you sure you should? You only just got home. Don't you think -?"

"I know," Emily interrupts, certain she can feel the seconds slipping by. She can't afford to be late. "But I've missed a lot in school, and Aria said she'd help me catch up on Spanish."

This seems so logical that her mother relents. "All right. Just try to take it easy. And call if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course, Mom," she says, reaching around the basket to give her a quick hug. "I'll be fine."

A minute later Emily's sliding into the front seat of her car and speeding away, thankful that her mother didn't see through her lie. Aria doesn't even do Spanish. She considers calling Aria to ask if she minded being her cover – just in case her mother calls to check up on her – but then she would have to spin a lie about why she needed a cover, and she can't handle the thought of lying to another person she loved tonight.

There's an abandoned parking lot near the meeting place, and she pulls into it a minute before eight. There's no time to think about what she's going to do, about where this is going to lead. She tosses her hair into a messy ponytail, pulls her jacket on, and starts the long walk up to the front door. The house seems abandoned too, but she can dimly make out a light on in one of the back rooms.

She knocks on the door, feeling faint from all the fear and tension. A few moments later the door opens and she forces herself to step inside. The room is empty aside from a fireplace on the opposite wall and a rocking chair in the corner. And the person who opened the door, who is now standing a few feet away from her.

Her eyes sweep across the room and land on the person, and she suddenly finds herself staring into the eyes of the last person she'd expected to see.

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**SUSPENSE.**

**Who do you guys think it is?**


	10. The Team

**Massive shoutout to haveawish, thank you so much! And to everyone else who's reading this and not reviewing, don't be shy. I've actually written up to about chapter 20, so if enough people are interested I can start publishing more than one chapter a day. It's just more fun when you all get involved! :)**

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"Toby?" The name falls from her lips and lands at his feet.

He looks at her in shock, his baby blue eyes wide like a startled deer. "Emily?"

In her surprise she's dropped her bag, and she reaches now to pick it up. She hangs it up on the door handle and then moves closer to Toby, half-convinced that if the shadows shift she's going to realise he was never really there. But even from close up he looks solid, real.

"You shouldn't be here," he says anxiously.

"Neither should you," she shoots back. "You're dead."

He glances at the door, and Emily, taking the hint, nudges it closed with her foot. Then she turns back to him, the intensity of her curiosity shining in her eyes.

"What happened?" she asks.

"I can't tell you," he says. "Not now, anyway. What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"I wasn't looking for you," she replies guardedly.

These words seem to carry more weight than she'd been intending, because he suddenly freezes and his eyes narrow. "They said there'd be someone new tonight," he says. "It's you, isn't it? You're the new A-Team member?"

She nods slightly. It's the first time someone's said it out loud like that, and it makes her feel cold.

"Why?" There's undeniable emotion behind his voice, but it's also unidentifiable. Is he confused? Angry? Upset?

"I could ask you the same question." Her elation at finding him alive is fading, replaced by a barrage of questions and a certain sense of distrust. "Where have you been all this time? Why did you let Spencer think you were dead?"

"That wasn't my idea," he protests. "It was Mona's. I -"

"I don't care whose idea it was," Emily spits. "You went along with it, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you for that."

"Emily, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you or Spencer -"

"Did you know she's in Radley now?" Emily is hoping, selfishly, that this news will come as a shock to him, that she'll have the privilege of watching him find out something so personal. And maybe she'll be able to tell by his reaction whether he really cares for Spencer.

But he just says sadly, "Yes, I know."

"How -?"

"The other day, when you were going to visit her. You ran into someone on the steps, remember?"

She nods warily. Then it clicks. "You were there? Why?"

He looks at her like this is the most ridiculous question in the world. "To see Spencer."

"And did you?"

He shakes his head. "By the time I got there, Mona was already visiting her."

"She wants Spencer to join the A-Team," Emily tells him, unsure whether or not she should be revealing such information.

This news, at least, seems to shock him. The thought of Spencer being on the team, for whatever reason, makes him uncomfortable.

"She probably doesn't now," he says. "She'd told us she was looking for a new member. You've filled that place, so maybe she'll leave Spencer alone."

"God, I hope so."

He opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment the door beside the fireplace swings open.

"Emily," Mona says, standing in the doorway. The light from the room behind her throws her shadow forward onto the floor, stretching towards Emily like some kind of disease. "So glad you could come."

Unable to think of an adequate response, Emil just dips her head in acknowledgement.

"And I see Toby has already welcomed you to our lair." Mona smiles at him, but it's not warm; it's threatening. "How gracious of him."

"That's Toby," Emily says, giving him a sideways look, "ever the gracious host."

He raises an eyebrow, surprised by this attempt at humor, and his mouth quirks up in something dangerously close to a smile.

"The others are all very excited to see you." Mona's eyes lock onto Emily's, and she finds herself struggling to look away. "They're all waiting in the back room. I'll take you there in a minute."

She turns her gaze to Toby, who meets her eyes with silent determination.

"Toby, will you go on ahead? We'll be there soon."

From the way his shoulders stiffen and his hands clench, Emily can tell that he doesn't like this idea. But maybe Mona outranks him, because he just nods and heads for the door. Mona steps into the room as he goes through the door, and he turns around behind her to mouth _Be careful_ at Emily. She didn't need the warning, but she appreciates the sentiment.

Mona closes the door behind him and then turns to Emily, who suddenly forgets how to breathe. The gravity of the situation is only really beginning to sink in now. She hadn't given herself time to work herself into a state of panic over this; if she had, she'd have never made it this far. But now that she's here, now that she's alone with Mona and about to turn on her friends, everything is really hitting her. She could be in serious danger. What if this is all a trap? Would Mona really have the guts to kill here right here and now?

"Relax, Emily. This isn't a setup." Her tone is light enough, but it seems to Emily that she puts a little too much inflection on the word _this_, like some kind of warning for trouble to come. "I just want to tell you a few things before we go in there."

"I'm listening," Emily says, folding her arms.

"The other members of the team are in the back room," she says again. "We're about to go in there, and you'll find out who they all are. You'll be able to talk to the people who have been torturing you and your friends for months. You'll be face-to-face with them, and you won't be able to do a thing. You'll have to smile at them and listen to them and pretend that all of it meant nothing. Can you do that?"

Emily hesitates. "I can try."

"Good. Because you see, Emily, once you're in, you're never going to get out. If you join the team, it's for good. It's final. You can't change your mind or back out or throw in the towel if it gets too much. You join us, you stay with us. End of story. And if we find out you betrayed us, if you go against us at all – you will be very sorry. Understood?"

Emily nods. Even though she'd known for a while what Mona was capable of, even though she'd known how evil she really was, she had never really been afraid of her. Until now.

"And if the identity of any of the team members suddenly becomes public knowledge," Mona goes on, "it will be very clear whose loose lips sank that ship. Are we clear?"

So this is her first test: she will find out the very thing she and her friends have been trying to solve for months, and she won't be able to say a word to them. But if it's to save Paige, she has to do it. There's no other choice.

"We're clear," she says, hoping Mona doesn't notice how her voice shakes.

"Great." Mona smiles at her, and the moment of terror is over. "Let's go meet the rest of the team."

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**All right. I'm probably going to hold off until I get a couple of reviews with people guessing who they think will be on the team. You WILL find out next chapter, which I will publish when I know enough people are reading. So get reviewing, guys!**


	11. The Members

**You guys are awesome! I'm loving your reviews - they actually inspired me to spend an entire half hour train ride today planning out the rest of the story (it is going to be SO much fun to write). So keep reading and reviewing and I'll update as often as I can. :)**

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As they walk down the narrow hallway, Emily reminds herself over and over again why she's doing this. It's for Paige. It's all for Paige. And in her mind, that makes it worth it. But she can't help the little thrill of fear that shoots through her as she thinks about what she's going to find in the next room. The A-Team. The elusive, seemingly omniscient presence that has been haunting for her months. Not only is she about to finally discover who is part of it, she's going to become part of it herself. She's not sure which she's more anxious about.

Mona stops outside a plain brown door. Then she steps back, gesturing for Emily to go first. Emily tucks her hair behind her ear, squares her shoulders, and marches through the door, hoping that somehow if she acts brave she's going to start feeling it too.

The room is large – it looks like it was a kitchen in a past life, but now there's only one large table surrounded by wooden chairs, a severe metal armchair in one corner, and a counter running along the opposite wall with a few things like a coffee maker, toaster, and microwave. Toby is leaning against the counter, and as Emily steps into the room his eyes sweep over her as if he's assessing for damage. Seeing that she's unhurt, he offers her a tiny smile.

She returns it hesitantly – she's still not sure she can trust him, but he does _seem_ like he genuinely cares about her – and then turns her attention to the table. There are two black-clad figures sitting there, one facing her and the other with their back to her. Both are wearing the A-Team black hoodie, so she can't see their faces. But as Mona enters the figure facing her looks up, and Emily feels her heart leap with recognition.

"Hey," Jason DiLaurentis says, closing a notebook he'd been looking at and addressing Mona. He doesn't even acknowledge Emily. "I got the video you wanted."

"Great." She walks past Emily, pointing to a chair on her way, and glides over to Jason.

While the two converse about this mysterious video, Emily sits down in the chair that had been apparently assigned for her. She's a couple of seats over from the figure she doesn't know, and she desperately wants to pull back their hood and reveal their face. But she knows that aside from calling the police and having them storm the place, this is about the stupidest thing she could do right now. She needs to earn their trust, and to do that she needs to act like she doesn't even care. She needs to pretend she belongs here.

Mona and Jason finish talking, and she sits down beside him. Toby takes the seat next to Emily, and their patchy circle is complete.

"Meeting in session," Mona says, and Emily is reminded of the time Spencer convinced her to turn up to a Model UN meeting; it had been so organised, and if anyone put one step out of line they were quickly put back in their place by a round of disapproving stares. But then she sees Jason smirking and realises Mona wasn't serious. "Now, you guys have probably noticed that we have a new member here tonight. I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to Emily, who's finally decided to join us."

"Welcome," Jason says, and she feels a chill run down her spine. She'd never really trusted him, but somehow it had still been a shock to find out he was on the team. Not to mention Jason is Aria's _boyfriend_. Was he going to hurt her? Was he planted in her life just so he could control her, manipulate her? The way he's looking at Emily now makes her feel naked, exposed, and unbelievably scared.

She looks away, her eyes roaming around the room to find something, anything else to look at. Out of the corner of her eye she notices something. Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, she turns her head slightly so that she can see the figure beside her, who has now pulled their hood down.

It seems to take a while for her to process the features. She sees the baby-blue eyes, the dark curly hair, the slightly boyish face, but she doesn't put them all together right away. It doesn't seem right. He can't be a part of this, can he?

"Hi Emily," Lucas says softly. "Glad you decided to join us."

She's at a loss for words, which Mona seems to find amusing.

"She'll be helping us out with the next mission," Mona says, smirking. Emily tears her attention away from Lucas, her head still reeling from this discovery, and forces herself to focus on Mona. "But first we have to finish this one. It'll only be a quick meeting, because I know you all have your jobs to do. I just thought it would be nice for us all to get together and discuss any ideas we have for the future, and give a quick report on how everything's going. Jason, do you want to start?"

He pauses, giving Emily a searching look.

"You can speak freely in front of her," Mona says. "She's not a threat."

Although Emily recognises that the words were chosen deliberately to shake her confidence, she can't stop them from doing so. She starts to wonder if she's in too deep, if she's going to get sucked into the team and end up doing something she can't come back from. Would she hurt one of her friends, if it meant saving Paige?

Jason nods, seeming to accept Mona's authority. Then he starts talking, although it makes no sense to Emily. Apparently they have codenames for everything and everyone, so Jason's report, and then Lucas' and Toby's, mean nothing to her. All she can gather is that all their missions seem to be going well, and some kind of conclusion will be reached within the next few days. Mona gives the final report, confirming Emily's theory that she's the one in charge; she says that all is going to plan, and they can start on their next target around the beginning of next week. This seems to be what the others are expecting, because they all nod and agree and Jason even says 'Finally.'

After that Mona calls the meeting to a close, and most of the members start to leave. Jason stays behind, flipping open his notebook and scribbling madly in one of the back pages, and Mona doesn't move from her spot beside him. But Lucas jumps up, grabs his backpack from under the table, and dashes through the door before Emily gets a chance to talk to him. Toby frowns after him, and then, making sure Mona can't see, mouths _Follow me_ to Emily before he leaves too.

She's halfway to the door when Mona's sickly-sweet voice stops her.

"Oh, Emily. Just a minute please."

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**How do you feel about who's on the team? The great thing with PLL is that everyone at some point is under suspicion, but it's still always a surprise when you find out a new A-Team member. You're kind of half-expecting it and then it still catches you off-guard.**


	12. The Discussion

**This chapter's shoutout is to dmpanda5. You're such a consistent reviewer and you always have such encouraging things to say. Thank you. :)**

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Emily turns back to Mona, who's looking at her with that rattlesnake smile. "Yes?"

"There are just a couple of things you need," Mona explains. She hands her a black backpack, identical to the one Lucas had. "Go ahead, open it."

She does, peering inside. She can't really see much, so sets the bag down on the table and starts pulling things out. Rope, duct tape, bolt cutters. A flashlight. A small box which, when she opens it, contains three small white pills. And finally, resting at the bottom of the bag, are a pair of black gloves and a black hoodie. She takes the hoodie out, holding it up against herself. It's a size or so too big, but that's the least of her worries. She stuffs it back inside, putting everything else back in on top of it, and then hoists the bag onto her shoulder.

"Thanks," she says, feeling her heart sink as she realises what this means: she's officially on their side now.

Mona nods in acknowledgement. "Keep your phone on. We'll be in touch."

Finally it's time for Emily to leave. She all but runs down the hall and out the door, only coming to a stop when someone grabs her from behind and shoves her up against the side wall. She starts to let out a shriek but the person clamps their hand over her mouth. In her terror it hasn't even occurred to her to look at the face of her attacker, but she does so now.

"Toby?" she mumbles through his hand.

"Don't scream," he says, slowly peeling his hand away from her mouth.

"What are you doing?" she asks, rubbing her shoulder. Could he have been a _little_ bit gentler?

"We need to talk," he says quickly, glancing around as if he's scared they'll be spotted.

"That's a given." After all that's happened, she has so many questions that need answering.

"It's not safe here," he goes on. "Can you meet me somewhere?"

"Where?"

He thinks for a moment, and she realises that nowhere is safe anymore. They're sure to be watched anywhere they go, whether it's by the others in the team, or by her friends. She doesn't know which one would be more dangerous at the moment.

"I know a place," he says at last, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the card for what looks like a very dingy motel. "I stay here sometimes, when I need to hide. I'll go there now. Come and meet me, but wait a bit, and make sure you're not followed."

Seeing she's still hesitant, he reaches out to grab her hand; a gesture intended for comfort or reassurance, she supposes. But instinct takes over and she steps back, not letting him touch her.

"Emily, please."

The urgency in his voice gets through to her, but she doesn't move any closer to him. "All right," she concedes. "I'll see you soon."

He nods, and a second later he's gone. She stands there for a few minutes, trying to slow her racing heart, and then she walks slowly to her car. She looks down at the address on the card; it's only a fifteen minute drive. But she deliberately takes a longer way, cutting through small streets and taking lots of roundabouts. If anyone's following her, she's going to make it as hard for them as possible. Twenty five minutes later she pulls up outside the motel.

As she gets out of the car she flips the motel card over. In the bottom right corner he's written the number eleven, which seems to be somewhere to her right. She locks the car, checks that she has both her phones on her, and then starts walking. She's on high alert, conscious that if anyone saw her it could mean a hell of a lot of trouble for her and Toby, but also potentially for Paige, and Aria, Hanna, and Spencer. Her footsteps sound too loud on the ground, and she ends up jogging the last few yards just to get it over as quickly as possible.

Toby opens the door before she has a chance to knock, and as soon as she slips inside he closes and locks it. He lifts up the corner of the blinds and looks outside for a minute, and then, finally satisfied that no one has followed her, he lets the blind fall back down and goes over to the couch.

"Welcome to Casa de Toby," he says. "Please seat yourself."

She perches on the edge of the couch, subconsciously making sure that she's closer to the door than he is. He notices, but he doesn't seem offended. If anything he seems impressed at her cautiousness, but he doesn't comment on it.

A few moments of silence pass as Emily tries to collect her thoughts. She has so many questions that she's not sure where she wants to start. She's almost relieved when Toby takes charge of the conversation.

"What happened to Spencer," he says, staring at the floor, "I wasn't a part of that. I only found out about it afterwards. Mona, she – she was behind that. After Spencer found out about me, I had to leave. It was for her safety. You have to believe that, Emily."

At this point he turns his baby-blues on her, and she feels some of her doubts melt away. This was Toby. He wouldn't lie to her, would he? But then she reminds herself that he lied to them for months, that he was secretly on the A-Team, and she looks away from him. "I'm not sure what to believe."

He looks pained. "I love Spencer. I care about all of you girls, and I don't want to hurt any of you."

"Then why were you helping Mona?"

"To protect you. It was better for me to be in on it, to be controlling the torture, than to defy Mona and be the cause of more pain. If she'd known whose side I was really on, she'd have used it against me. She would have hurt you even more. I couldn't stand that."

This resonates with the part of her that had never believed him capable of real malice, of such violence. But it still doesn't explain everything.

"So what about the thing in the woods? Spencer said she found you – your body. Do you know who it was?"

He shakes his head. "Mona never told me. After Spencer found out about me, I had to leave. It was the only way to keep her safe. But when I found out she was in Radley, I – it was too much. I came back, and I tried to see her. But Mona wouldn't let me. She got to her before I could. And then I learned that you were on the team, and… I don't know. I don't know what to do, Emily. I want to fix this, but I don't know how."

"What were you protecting her from? Why couldn't you stay?" She pauses, taking a moment to get her voice under control. "What could possibly have been worse than what happened to her?"

He looks at her. "Mona. She threatened to… to hurt Spencer, if I didn't clear out of there. I would have never left if I knew this was going to happen."

This is a lot of information to absorb, and Emily needs time to process it all. But there's one more thing she needs to ask.

"Do you know what happened to Paige?"

"No." His reply is unhesitant, but not too quick. He seems sure of it, like he's trying his hardest to get her to believe him. Then he says something that makes her heart start hammering like crazy in her chest. "But I can help you find out."

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**Aw, how nice of Toby to offer to help... but is he really on Emily's side, or was his love for Spencer all an act? Share your thoughts!**

**[I want to write another chapter before I publish the next one, so any motivation to get writing will be very helpful. :)]**


	13. The Search

**I ended up writing two chapters today (yay!), and you guys have been so lovely with your reviews, so I thought I'd share the next chapter while I'm at it. Enjoy and don't forget to review.**

**Also, sidenote: you will find out the motivations of all the A-Team members at some point. Maybe things aren't exactly what they seem...**

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That night Emily dreams. She'd fallen asleep thinking about Toby and his offer to help her find Paige, so her dream starts out with her talking to him. Then it changes. She's standing alone on the side of the road, around where they'd stopped that night Paige had broken down after being kidnapped. She looks around, but she can't see anything but darkness and shadows.

Then there's a sound like a twig cracking, and without thinking she sprints into the woods that suddenly appear to her left. As she stumbles through the trees, which seem to get taller and thicker and closer together, she catches glimpses of a figure up ahead. They're too far away to make out any details, but Emily knows by the tugging of her heart that it's Paige. Nobody else could make her feel like that.

The trees come to an end as a major highway appears out of nowhere. Paige is halfway across it when Emily catches up to her, which she can only do by jumping for her. They tumble to the ground, rolling over each other, until they come to a stop on the other side of the road and Emily looks down into the face of the person below her. To her surprise it's not Paige. She can't tell who it is – the shadows obscure any features – but she knows with complete certainty that it's not Paige.

As she opens her mouth to ask who it is, she wakes up. She feels cold and clammy, and as she raises a hand to wipe away some of the cold sweat stuck to her forehead she glances at the clock and groans. She only has half an hour until she has to be up anyway, so she gets out of bed and pads softly to the bathroom. She splashes her face with cold water, trying to get rid of some of the fear and confusion that the dream had given her, but it doesn't work.

So she takes her clothes off and steps into the shower, letting the water flow over her, hoping that worries will wash away like dirt. They don't, even though she stays in the shower for over half an hour. She's running late now, and her mother's already gone to work. That's good for her, because otherwise she would have had to explain why she was back home after supposedly staying at Aria's last night.

When she gets to school she's met with seas of sympathy, and she surfs those for as long as she can to avoid anyone actually asking how she is – or listening to her answer. She can't tell her friends where she was last night, and she can't even tell them that Toby is alive. Keeping that from Aria and Hanna is relatively easy, because they were never that close. But not being able to tell Spencer feels horrible. She'd brought it up last night, asking him if she knew he was alive.

He'd shaken his head so violently she was worried he'd get whiplash, and then he'd made her promise not to tell her. "It's better if Spencer doesn't know for now," he'd told her firmly. "And don't tell the others either. You can't tell them that you're on the A-Team, or that I'm alive, or anything else of what you know. I know it's tough, but you have to keep it to yourself for now. At least until we know more about what's happening, okay?"

He'd wrung the promise out of her, and now she was grateful for it. It was hard enough to deal with Hanna and Aria constantly checking up on her and making sure she wasn't overdoing herself. If they knew how much she really had on her plate right now, there was no way they'd let her out of their sight.

After that first night of being on the A-Team, nothing much happens. She doesn't receive any texts from Mona, and she doesn't hear from Toby. Days go by and there's still no word; he'd told her to sit tight while he looked into it, so there was nothing she could do yet.

Spencer is still in Radley, and Aria and Hanna have visited her a couple of times. Emily keeps making excuses as to why she can't go, but the real reason is that she couldn't bear to be in the same room as her and not be able to tell her about Toby. Spencer was confident that he was dead, and Emily couldn't stand to sit there and not tell her the truth.

Finally, about a week after that first meeting, Toby calls Emily after school. She's just said goodbye to the girls, politely declining their offer to go to Aria's to study, and she's walking over to her car.

"Hello?" she answers, unlocking the door and sliding into the front seat.

"Emily." Toby's voice is tense, which makes her feel on edge at once. "I've found something."

"Really? What is it?"

He pauses for an unbearably long period of time. "I think I know where Paige is," he says at last, but he doesn't sound happy about it.

"What's wrong?" Emily grips the steering wheel as hard as she can to stop herself from screaming. "Where is she?"

"I think it's best if we do this in person. Can you meet me?"

She wants to shout at him, to force him to tell her, but she knows how stubborn he can be.

"Fine," she says. "Where?"

She writes down the address and then hangs up without saying goodbye. Her mind in a mess, she starts up the car and turns onto the main road. Of all the mysteries she's had to deal with this past year, like Ian's and Garrett's deaths, this one is definitely being solved the quickest. Unless, she reminds herself, Toby isn't telling the truth. Although she desperately wants to believe him, he _has_ lied to her before; there's an outside chance this is a setup, that he's really loyal to the A-Team, and that she's walking into a trap. But if there's a chance it will lead her to Paige, she's willing to try it.

She comes to a stop outside the address, and then frowns. This can't be right. She's outside an elementary school. Why did Toby want to meet here? As she reaches over for her phone, she catches sight of someone walking quickly across the playground. There's something furtive in the way he walks, and it sparks her curiosity. Then he turns around and she suppresses a gasp as she realises who it is.

She jumps out of the car, slams the door, and races after him.

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**Something BIG is going to happen next chapter, so stay tuned! (And feel free to leave a review letting me know what you think it could be - I'm interested about where you guys think this story is going.)**


	14. The Revelation

**Thank you for the reviews everyone! I'm actually supposed to be on my way to class right now but you guys were all so lovely I felt I needed to post this chapter instead. Normally I'll try to post a couple of chapters a day, but in this one you find out something BIG so I want to give it time to sink in.**

**haveawish - those three things are going to happen very soon, I promise.**

**guest - good pickup! Maybe it was... Just so you guys know, the next couple of chapters are going to be pretty Hannily heavy.**

**Santana4ever - thank you! I will definitely post more tomorrow. It makes me so happy to see people enjoying my writing.**

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Byron Montgomery is a man who's used to hiding. Emily can see that in the way he walks, the way he keeps looking around, the way he stops and does a complete 360-degree scan of the area before he creeps into the shadows behind the shed. He looks like he's done this before - and like he's been caught before.

Emily hides herself behind a tree and watches as a brunette woman approaches him, looking just as shifty as he did. The woman reaches him and the two exchange a few quiet words, and then they lean into each other, embrace each other, begin kissing. That's when she realises who the woman is.

Suddenly someone grabs her from behind and she bites back a squeal as the person spins her around to face them.

"Come on," Toby says, grabbing her by the hand and leading her away. "We need to talk."

She casts one last look back at Byron and Ella, and then she follows Toby away from the shed. She expects them to stop when they reach the school gates, but he just walks around them and keeps going, all the way to the other side of the school.

"Toby, what's going on?" she demands, pulling her hand away.

"Not here," he mutters, and begins to skirt around the perimeter of the school.

Confused, she follows him. They finally come to a stop around the back of the school – near the shed, again, but on the opposite side.

"Toby -" Emily starts.

"Shh," he says, pulling her into a copse of trees. "Just watch."

"Watch for what?" she asks, but he doesn't answer.

They can just see Byron and Ella, who are still locked together. There's nobody else around, although they can hear the sounds of children shouting from the playground. After a few uneventful but surprisingly tense minutes, Toby turns to Emily and starts talking.

"We're waiting for someone," he explains. "So keep an eye out. But we don't have much time, so I'll do some of the explaining now."

She nods, her eyes begging him to go on. What does all of this have to do with Paige?

"Byron and Ella have been meeting like this for weeks," he admits. "They haven't told Aria or Mike yet, and they don't want to."

"Are they getting back together?"

He shrugs, indicating that he doesn't know, and implying that he doesn't care.

"So they've been meeting together," Emily prompts. "Why are _we_ here?"

"Twice a week Mike comes down here after school to coach the boys' basketball team," Toby goes on. "His parents use this opportunity for their… rendezvous. About two weeks ago Mona found out about this, and she knew she wanted to use to it to her advantage."

"How?"

"That was exactly her question." Toby looks towards the shed, checking that Aria's parents are still there and making sure nobody else is. "It took her a while, but finally she managed to work it into some plan of hers. I'm not too sure of the specifics – she's not exactly been very forthcoming with me lately – but it involved causing some kind of confrontation between Aria and at least one of her parents.

"Right," Emily says. That sounds like Mona.

"To do that she needed to have proof," Toby says. "I found out this afternoon that today was when she was going to get that evidence. She sent someone over here to get pictures of it, which I assume they're going to send to Aria later."

"Is that why you're here?" Emily asks, feeling slightly disgusted. This all seems too voyeuristic for her. "To get proof?"

"No. Mona doesn't know I'm here." He grins, as if he's pleased at his rebellion. "She'd probably kill me if she knew."

"So who did she send then? Lucas? Jason?"

Toby shakes his head.

"She wouldn't come herself, would she?"

Another shake.

Emily frowns. "But if it's not them, and it's not you, and it's not me…"

She doesn't want to think about it, but the thought forcefully wedges itself firmly in her mind.

"Is there someone else? Someone I don't know about?"

He gives her a grim smile. "Check your phone. Your team one."

She pulls it from her pocket and looks at the contacts. Her heart sinks. With everything that had been going on, she'd completely forgotten. There were five numbers in her phone. That didn't account for all of the members she knew. Mona. Toby. Jason. Lucas. There was one more.

"Who is it?" she asks. "You know, don't you?"

Before he has a chance to answer – although she's not entirely sure he was going to anyway – they're distracted by a shape off to the right. Someone hiding, like all of them. This person is wearing all black, crouched behind a tree with a good view of Ella and Byron. The black hoodie is pulled right up, and their back is to Emily. They're busily snapping pictures on their phone: the proof.

Emily longs to go over and find out who it is, but she knows that's unwise. She can also feel Toby's cautioning hand on her shoulder, so she waits in the shadows while the anonymous A-Team member takes their candids. Finally they finish, and as they turn around to leave they're so busy making sure Byron and Ella don't see them that they don't even notice Emily and Toby.

But Emily sees them. She sees their face, although the shadows from the hoodie make it look more sinister than usual. She sees every detail, with bright and painful clarity. She's barely aware of Toby's arms supporting her, of him trying to console her, as her knees give way and she sinks to the ground, unable to think of anything but what she's just seen.

Unable to erase the image of Paige wearing that black hoodie.

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***cue dramatic music***


	15. The Aftermath

**I love you guys. Your reviews mean the world to me. It's heartening to see so many people liking the story. :)**

**Also, I misnumbered a few of my chapters, so it turns out I'm ahead of where I thought I was. So enjoy the next chapter a little early. ;)**

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"Emily," Toby is saying as he drags her to her feet. "Come on. We have to go."

Numb, she lets him guide her to his car. He gently slides her into the passenger seat, even doing up the seatbelt for her, and then he gets in the car and speeds away from the school. It's a long while before either of them speak.

"You knew she would be there." Emily's throat is dry, and she can barely whisper the words.

He nods. "I've known she was part of the team for a while," he admits. "But I needed you to see it for yourself or you would have never believed me."

Somewhere deep inside she feels a flicker of anger at him for keeping this from her, but she's still in shock and unable to process any other emotion. She briefly wonders if she'll ever be able to feel anything again.

"Why did you say you'd help me find her?"

"She _was_ missing." He glances at her as if to gauge her reaction. "After your accident she stopped turning up to meetings. I tried getting in touch but she wouldn't return my calls. I thought maybe she'd turned against us and Mona had… done something."

Emily snorts. "Doesn't look like it."

"I'm sorry, Emily," he says, and he sounds sincere. "I didn't want you to find out this way."

She stares out the window, watching houses flash past, and thinks of all the people inside who are totally oblivious. They don't know that her world has just been ripped apart, and they wouldn't care even if they did. These people are happy living their own perfect little lives, a far cry from her own. She doesn't think anything will ever be right again.

After Spencer had found out about Toby and gone on a complete tailspin, Emily had thought a lot about trust and betrayal and loyalty. She'd told Aria and Hanna how it was one thing to question the person you were with, and another thing entirely to question yourself. But now she was realising that the two weren't so different. Emily had been so willing to trust Paige, to put her heart in her hands, that she hadn't seen hergetting ready to throw it in the blender.

That said a lot about Paige, but it also said a lot about Emily. She hadn't been able to see through the act. She had wholeheartedly trusted Paige. She had completely loved her. Did that make her stupid? Naïve? Was she just a helpless victim in all of this?

"You should have told me," she says quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry."

They fall silent again. Emily chews the inside of her cheek, arguing with herself. Finally, still looking out the window, she says quietly, "Is this how Spencer felt when she found out about you?"

She can sense Toby stiffen and wonders if she's offended him. But he takes a deep breath, makes an effort to get himself under control, and replies evenly, "I don't know what she felt. And if she loves me as much as I hope she does, as much as I can see that you love Paige… I don't want to think about what I put her through."

She nods, but doesn't look at him. They drive for almost twenty minutes before she realises that he has no idea where they're going.

"Toby, why are we still driving?"

"I wanted to wait until you'd calmed down a bit," he says. "I wasn't sure where you'd want to go, and I didn't want to ask until you were feeling better."

"Oh."

She starts reading street signs, trying to figure out where they are. Finally she recognises a playground on the corner. "Turn right," she instructs.

Toby complies without asking any questions. When they're only a couple of streets away he realises where they're going, and she leans back in her seat, trusting him to take her there. He pulls up outside the house and she opens her eyes, wondering why she chose to come here. She tells herself that it's just because this was the closest of her friend's houses, and that she doesn't want to be alone. But some part of her knows it's more than that.

"I should -" she says, gesturing to the house.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asks.

She lets out a cynical laugh.

"Stupid question." He puts his hand on her thigh, and she lets him. There's nothing sexual about it; she finds it comforting. "Text me if you need anything, okay?"

"I will." She gets out, pausing just before she closes the door. There's more she wants to say. She still has a million questions, but she doesn't know how to phrase any of them. And she's not sure she'd want to hear the answers anyway. One discovery is enough for today. "Bye, Toby."

She closes the door and walks up the path. With each step she hears the truth reverberating in her head: Paige is –A. Paige, her Paige, has been deliberately hurting her. She doesn't know how deep she is into it, but she knows that it's deep enough. She knows she'll never trust Paige again. She's lost the person she loved most, and she feels absolutely broken.

As she reaches the door she hesitates, but she glances back and sees Toby still in his car, watching her. He gestures for her to go inside; he knows she shouldn't be alone right now. She takes a deep breath and knocks.

The person who answers the door isn't who she'd been hoping for. She opens her mouth to speak, but only a strangled whimper comes out. She can feel the tears to start to trickle down her cheeks.

"Emily!" Mrs Marin says in surprise, opening the door wide. "Come in. I'll go get Hanna for you."

Silently Emily walks inside, automatically going over to the couch in the living room. She flops down onto it, covering her face with her hands. She's a mess. She doesn't want Hanna to see her like this.

A few moments later she hears footsteps coming down the stairs, and she looks up. Hanna's eyes widen as she takes in the sight of her best friend crying on her couch, and then she rushes over to her. Emily tenses up as Hanna hugs her, but then she allows herself to relax. She buries her face in Hanna's shoulder, holding her like nothing else matters, and cries until her eyes run dry.

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**I'm having fun with these teasers, so here's one for the next chapter: Emily reveals something big to Hanna. What do you think it will be? (Also, do you like having teasers, or would you keep reading even without them?)**


	16. The Admission

**I'm about ten chapters ahead, and I just wrote a cute Hannily chapter. There's one sooner, though, but I just thought I'd let you know that I haven't forgotten that I promised you some Hannily!**

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"I'm gonna kill her." Hanna stands up and starts pacing. "Seriously. Just let me at her. I'll -"

"Hanna," Emily says firmly. "I don't need you to do anything. I don't want you more involved than you already are."

"I was involved before I knew there was anything to be involved _in_," she says, stopping her pacing so she can face her friend. "You're my best friend, so if you're part of this, I am too. Paige is on the A-Team, she's the enemy. Simple as that. So why the hell shouldn't I go after her myself?"

"It's not always that simple," Emily protests. "Some people might join with good intentions."

"No." Hanna folds her arms. "If you have good intentions, you join a church or an animal shelter or something. You don't team up with the devil incarnate and start torturing your girlfriend and her friends."

Emily bites her lip. So far she's only told Hanna that Paige was on the team, and that was why they had broken up and therefore why she was so upset. She hasn't mentioned Toby, or her own involvement in the team, or that Jason and Lucas are also in on it. She's already revealed too much, and she doesn't want Hanna to be in even more danger. But she can't keep this hidden forever, can she?

"Some people might have been trying to help."

Hanna's eyes narrow. "Are you talking about Toby?"

Emily shrugs. "I still think he might be – might have been on our side."

She curses herself for the slip-up in tense, but Hanna doesn't seem to notice.

"I don't believe that. If he was on our side he wouldn't have done that to Spencer."

"What if he -?"

"No. Emily, Toby was not a good guy. Maybe it's better that he's out of our lives."

If Emily hadn't already cried for half an hour on Hanna's shoulder, she would be crying now. Her lip trembles. Hanna's expression softens and she sits back down beside her, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. You know I'm just trying to help, right?"

Emily nods.

Mrs Marin comes into the room then, bearing two cups of steaming tea. She sets these on the table in front of them and mouths _Is she okay?_ to Hanna, who shrugs. Emily grabs one of the cups of tea and starts sipping it. Mrs Marin offers her a sympathetic smile and says, "If there's anything you need, let me know."

The girls drink their tea in silence for a while. Then Emily, seized with a sudden desire for honesty, puts the cup back on the table and turns to Hanna.

"There's something else I have to tell you," Emily says quickly, afraid that if she's interrupted she'll lose her nerve. "But actually I don't know if I _should_ be telling you."

"Em," Hanna says, grabbing her hand, "you know you can tell me anything."

Emily looks down at their intertwined hands, liking the way it feels. _Focus_. She looks back at Hanna's face, mesmerised by those bright eyes.

"When I was in the hospital," Emily goes on, "Mona came to visit me. She – she told me she knew where Paige was, or at least that she could help me find her."

Hanna grimaces. "I'm guessing she didn't do it out of the goodness of her heart. What did she want?"

Emily swallows. She hasn't said the words yet. She hasn't actually admitted it to anybody. And even though she'd gone to the meeting and been given the signature A-Team hoodie, some part of her still believes this isn't real. But if she admits it, if she says aloud what she's done, then there's no going back. That makes it real, final. Inescapable.

"She wanted me to join the A-Team."

Hanna raises her eyebrows in surprise. "She just doesn't quit, does she? First Spencer, now you. I wonder who's next."

"Nobody is next."

"What?"

"She's not going to ask anybody else to join the team."

Hanna has gone from cautious, bypassed curious, and gone straight to suspicious. "Why wouldn't she ask anyone else? When you rejected her, was that finally enough to convince her that she's not going to turn us against each other?"

Emily shakes her head. She looks down at her lap. She wishes that the room would split in half and the earth would swallow her.

"Em, what is it? What aren't you telling me? Did Mona hurt you? Did she threaten you?"

"No. She had no reason to."

"But if you -" Hanna stops abruptly. She tilts her head slightly, as if seeing Emily in a new way. She very carefully pulls her hand away from hers and stands up. "Emily. Please tell me you rejected Mona. Please say you sent that bitch running out of there due to the intensity of your refusal to join her team. Please just tell me you said no."

With a start Emily realizes Hanna is crying. She wants nothing more than to wrap the blonde girl up in her arms and stop her tears, but that will have to wait.

"I can't." Emily's voice hitches. "I didn't send Mona away. I didn't refuse her."

"Emily," Hanna says desperately, hoping she's misunderstood or there's been some kind of mistake, "what are you saying?"

Finally Emily forces herself to look up and meet Hanna's eyes, almost flinching when she sees how much hurt and confusion they hold.

"I'm saying that I accepted Mona's offer." Emily takes a deep breath. "Hanna, I'm a part of the A-Team now."

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**haveawish - good guessing! She does end up revealing all of those soon within the space of like two chapters.**

**guest - thank you for the review! When you said 'love love love it' I pictured Hanna saying that about the wedding dress. XD**

**team-A fan - Emily will do her first mission in a few chapters' time, so stay tuned!**

**dmpanda5 - thanks for the feedback! I'll skip teasers this chapter, but I'll pick them up again soon.**


	17. The Distance

**You guys, just... you're awesome. Your feedback is what keeps me writing. I didn't expect this story to be popular, so it really makes me happy that so many of you are enjoying it.**

**guest (1) - your review made my day! I'm so glad you're enjoying it this much.**

**dmpanda5 - thank you for your review, as always. The next few chapters are pretty Hannily-heavy, so I hope you enjoy them!**

**guest (2) - there's an explanation of Paige's motives in a later chapter, so stay tuned.**

**Santana4ever - Hanna and Emily do eventually get together in this story. There's hints of it in a few chapters, but in one of the later chapters it becomes official. Excited?**

**AK - thank you so, so much. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. There will be many more chapters to come, including some nice Hannily moments, so keep reading.**

**Now, onto the actual chapter.**

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Hanna stares at Emily like she's just announced that she's really an alien. The silence stretches between them, settling over them like a suffocating blanket.

"Hanna, please say something," Emily begs.

"I -" Hanna takes a step back, as if she wants to be as far away from her friend as possible. "I don't know what to say."

Emily stands up, starting to go over to her, but she stops when Hanna backs up further. "Hanna," she says quietly, "are you _afraid_ of me?"

"No." Hanna rubs her arms, like she does when she's nervous. She sighs. "I mean, yeah, a little."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Emily says fervently. "I would never do that. I love you. You know that."

Hanna surveys her for a moment, then lets her arms fall to her sides. She doesn't move any closer, but it's a little bit more inviting at least. "I know that. I'm just – I'm confused. Why would you join the A-Team? And why wouldn't you tell us about it?"

"Like I said, Mona told me she could help me find Paige. I thought if I helped her, I'd be able to get Paige back. And I thought if I told you guys about it, I'd just be putting you in danger."

"So you did it to protect us?"

"Of course."

"Aria doesn't know, does she?"

"No." Emily looks away. "You're the first person I've told."

"So you haven't even told Spencer?"

"No," Emily says, surprised. "I haven't even seen her since…"

"Okay." Hanna bites her thumbnail, thinking. She sits down on the edge of the couch, and Emily sits beside her – but further away than she would usually be. "Okay. So Mona offered you a place on the team. You accepted because you thought it would save Paige – who, it turns out, was in on the whole thing. How involved is Paige?"

Emily blinks. "What do you mean?"

"Well, has she been on the team since the start? Or was she tricked into helping? Does she know you thought she was missing? Does she know you know she's –A?"

"Slow down," Emily says, although she's encouraged by Hanna's enthusiasm. She wouldn't be trying this hard if she really didn't trust Emily, would she? "She doesn't know that I know about her. I ran off as soon as I saw her. And as for how involved she is, I don't know. Toby said -"

"Toby?" Hanna raises an eyebrow. "What does _Toby_ have to do with this?"

Emily bites her lip, mentally kicking herself. The urge to lie is strong but fleeting. "He – he's alive."

"He what?" Hanna leaps to her feet. "Toby's _alive_ and you're only just telling me this _now_?"

"Hanna, in case you can't tell I kind of have a lot on my mind right now," Emily says defensively.

Hanna exhales loudly, then sits back down. "I know. I'm sorry. I just – how do you know he's alive?"

"I've talked to him," she says. "He was the one who helped me find Paige."

"Wait, he _helped_ you?" Hanna says sceptically. "Why would he do that?"

"I'm not sure," Emily says tentatively. "I think maybe he's on our side after all."

"But what about -?"

Emily holds up a hand to signal her to stop. "I'm still in question-mode, Han. I don't know the whole story. So save your breath and refrain from bombarding me with questions I won't be able to answer."

"Right." Hanna sighs. Then she brightens. "Here's one you _can_ answer: what kind of snacks do you want?"

Ten minutes later the girls are sitting at the kitchen table snacking on popcorn. Emily hadn't wanted any food, but Hanna had been very insistent. Besides, her friend had argued, it was impossible to feel very gloomy while munching on something that was such a bright yellow color. Although they've done this many times before, and it usually feels completely comfortable, there's a kind of distance between the two now.

When the doorbell rings Hanna and Emily look at each other nervously.

"That'll be Aria," Emily says resignedly.

"I'll get it."

Hanna comes back a couple of minutes later with a worried-looking Aria. The dark-haired girl leans against the counter, pulling off a pair of strappy black heels. Emily takes in her appearance, from her stylishly curled hair to her frilly but formal dress, and wonders if she interrupted something important.

"I was on a date with Jason," Aria explains when she sees her looking. "But you sounded so stressed on the phone. What's up?"

Hanna sits down beside Emily and holds her hand, squeezing it to give her encouragement and support. "You can do it," Hanna whispers into her ear.

For a moment Emily is distracted by the way Hanna's breath tickles against her neck, by the way her warm hand fits perfectly in her own, but she pushes those thoughts from her mind.

"Before I tell you, you have to promise not to freak out, okay?" Emily says.

"Freak out?" Aria glances from one girl to the other. "Why would I freak out?"

"I have some… big news."

"Em, you're scaring me," Aria says, coming over and sitting down across from her. "So just tell me what it is. I mean, it can't be that bad, can it? It's not like you're about to tell me you're –A or something."

She laughs, but stops when she sees Emily's expression.

Emily gulps. "Well…"

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**Uh oh! How do you think Aria will react?**


	18. The Reaction

**Thank you all so much for your kind reviews. They mean a lot to me. =3**

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To her credit, Aria doesn't yell. She doesn't storm out. But a shadow passes across her eyes and she sets her jaw, clearly making an effort to control herself. Emily senses a change in the atmosphere of the room, something slight but significant. Everything feels darker, like a storm about to unleash on the earth.

"You're on the A-Team," Aria repeats, her voice flat.

"Yeah." Emily watches her carefully for any kind of reaction. She can't tell how Aria is handling the news; normally she's pretty good at reading her friend, but now she feels closed off, guarded. She can't blame her.

"You can't tell anyone though," Hanna says, then realises how stupid that is. The need for secrecy is well understood by this point. "Not even Spencer. We don't want to worry her."

"Why would she be worried?" Aria says, letting a touch of ice creep into her voice. "There's nothing to be worried about. Everything's fine."

Now that her façade is breaking, Emily can tell how hard Aria's been hit by the news. Under other circumstances Aria would be comforting her friend over the loss of her girlfriend. She would be hugging her and bringing her gallons of ice cream and helping her get through it. But because of Emily's decision, because she acted alone and accepted Mona's offer, Aria is shutting her out.

"Aria -" Emily says pleadingly, reaching for her.

"No," Aria says, stepping backwards. She holds up her hands in frustration. "I can't deal with this right now. I just can't."

She turns on her heel, slinging her shoes around her neck by the straps, and marches out of the room, ignoring the cries of her friends. Emily winces as she hears the door slam.

"Well that was rude," Hanna huffs, seemingly forgetting that she reacted similarly less than an hour ago.

"Can you blame her?" Emily asks. "I did something unforgiveable."

"You don't need to be forgiven," Hanna says. "You made a choice to save someone you love. I get that. It's not your fault it blew up in your face like this."

"I shouldn't have said yes," Emily bursts out. "When Mona came to me I should have just turned her down like you said."

"But then you could have been putting Paige in danger," Hanna points out. "I mean, if she wasn't on the team, she could have needed you to find her."

"Well, I found her," Emily says bitterly. "God. I'm so _stupid_."

"You're not stupid."

"I'm not good enough."

"You _are_."

"I always was the weakest link."

Hanna frowns. "What do you mean, Em?"

"When Mona asked Spencer to join the team, she said no." Emily puts her head in her hands, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "If I'd just been strong like Spencer, I could have -"

"- ended up in Radley?" Hanna supplies.

"Hanna!"

"I'm sorry," Hanna says, ducking her head sheepishly. "I just mean, none of us is all that strong. We all have flaws and faults and we all mess up sometimes. Spencer said no because Mona kidnapped her and -"

"It wasn't just that," Emily cuts in. "Mona asked her again."

"What? When?"

"The week before last. Mona came to Radley and she asked Spencer to join. I was just signing in to see her, so I could hear them arguing. Spencer turned her down, again."

Hanna swings back on her chair, looking at Emily thoughtfully. "So Mona came after you instead," she says. "Do you know what that means?"

"That Spencer was just a decoy and she was after me all along?"

"No." Hanna leans forward, the chair legs making a faint thud as they hit the ground. "It means that Mona went after Spencer first because she thought she was vulnerable. She broke her down and then went to her when she was at her lowest point. But she didn't do that with you. She went after you because she thought you were valuable. She knows how smart and strong you are, and she wanted you on her side."

"You and I both know that's not true," Emily says. "But thanks."

Somehow Hanna's words have broken through, and now Emily's smiling. It's only little, barely there for a second, but it's a genuine smile. Hanna notices and smiles back.

"It'll be okay, Em," she assures her. "I'm sorry I reacted badly earlier. I just wasn't expecting it."

"Tell me about it." Emily sighs. "When did life get so complicated?"

Hanna just shakes her head. Then she picks up the bowl and offers it to Emily. "Popcorn?"

Emily rolls her eyes, but she takes some of the popcorn. Once they finish eating it their attention turns to lighter things. Emily suspects Hanna's doing it deliberately, trying to make her feel better, so she goes along with it. They gravitate towards the living room, chatting the whole time, and end up on the couch. Hanna flicks through the channels on the TV until they find something suitably trashy. Emily leans her head against Hanna's shoulder, and Hanna sets the remote down and then absently reaches over and starts stroking Emily's hair.

The distance between them has dissipated. For the first time in weeks, Emily feels safe. She smiles, closing her eyes, wishing this moment could last forever. She doesn't notice the tender look in Hanna's eyes, or the slow smile that spreads across her face as Emily snuggles into her lap and falls asleep. She's with the one person who still believes in her, and that's all that matters.

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**Confession: I'm not good at writing fluff. I write drama, angst, fun stuff like that. So these happier moments don't come so easily. How'd I do?**


	19. The Dress

**Absolutely nothing of consequence happens in this chapter. So if you're reading it for the plot, you can skip it. But if you want some Hannily, read on. Also, disclaimer: I am also no good at writing clothing descriptions, so I apologise for that.**

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Emily wakes up sprawled out on Hanna's couch. It takes her a moment to figure out that that's where she is, but then she feels warmth start to fill her. She slept soundly, without any nightmares or even dreams, and she feels more awake and alert than she has in weeks. She sits up, running a hand through her hair, and stretches.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Hanna says cheerfully from the kitchen.

"What time is it?" Emily asks as Hanna comes over and hands her a cup of coffee.

"Almost eight." Hanna sits down beside her, warming her hands on her own cup. "How'd you sleep?"

Emily can't stop a sly grin from spreading across her face. "Great."

"I'm glad," Hanna says with a reciprocal smile. "Now come on. We probably shouldn't miss school."

"Right." She looks down at her clothes, which are all wrinkled and covered in dirt from when she'd been hiding near the trees last night. "Uh -"

"It's fine," Hanna says, pulling her to her feet. "You can borrow some of my clothes."

They head up to Hanna's room and the blonde-haired girl starts going through her closet. She tosses some dresses on her bed, followed by a pile of jackets. Emily picks up the nearest dress, a lacy red number, and raises an eyebrow.

"I am _not_ wearing that."

"But you'd look -"

"_No_."

Hanna sighs dramatically and turns back to her closet. A moment later she pulls something out and throws it at Emily, who catches it automatically before looking at it with distaste.

"Really, Hanna? That's not exactly my style."

"Come on, just try it on," Hanna says persuasively. "You'll look great, I promise."

Emily considers saying no, but then she remembers how Hanna had helped her last night, how she'd always been there for her, and she realizes she could never say no to her.

"All right," she says, sliding out of her jeans. "No peeking."

Hanna grins suggestively and turns around. She doesn't peek, although she can see a bit of Emily's reflection in the mirror. The sight of Emily pulling off her shirt and sliding into the dress makes Hanna blush.

"Ready," Emily says, and Hanna turns around.

"Wow."

Emily feels a rush of pleasure at the way Hanna's eyes light up, at the bright smile she gives her. With the way Emily dresses, she doesn't normally get looks like that. When they go to parties or special functions she dresses up, but that's not very often. She hasn't even put her makeup on yet – it occurs to her that she didn't even get all of yesterday's makeup _off_ – so why is Hanna looking at her like she's the prettiest flower in the garden?

The dress is a robin's-egg blue, stopping just above the knees. It's tight around the bust and waist, showing off Emily's natural curves. There's a ribbon under the bust area, ending with a cute bow on the left. It's much more feminine than Emily would normally wear to a normal day of school, but the way Hanna's looking at her makes her almost like it.

"It needs something else, though," Hanna says, contemplating. She turns around and starts going through one of her drawers. "Here."

Emily catches the jacket Hanna throws her and slides it on. It's leather, slightly tighter than she would have liked, but surprisingly comfortable. It's closer to what she would usually wear, and it makes her feel a little bit better about her outfit. She looks at herself in the mirror; the car crash left her with a few cuts and bruises, but they're very minor and healing well. If you didn't know they were there, you wouldn't even notice them.

"My shoes don't exactly go with it," she says, looking down at her sneakers.

"I don't know, I think it's kind of cute," Hanna teases. "There, see those boots? Try those."

Emily sits down on the bed and pulls on the black boots. They fit reasonably well, and they match the jacket perfectly. She looks at herself in the mirror, and she catches sight of Hanna behind her. Their eyes meet and they both smile, then Emily looks away. What is she thinking?

"Perfect," Hanna says.

She pulls out another dress for herself and hurriedly changes, while Emily busies herself applying makeup. She puts on more than she usually does, because this outfit seems to require it more than her usual ones do. She and the girls often get ready together, so she knows where to find all of Hanna's makeup. She quickly finds a shade of eye-shadow to match the dress and accompanies it with some mascara and eyeliner, and just a touch of her favorite lip-gloss.

She turns around to say something to Hanna, but the words catch in her throat as she sees her. Hanna is wearing a black miniskirt and a flowing red top that clings to her body in all the right places. She's paired this up with some black stockings and low heels, and she's now in the process of curling the front portion of her hair.

"You like?" Hanna asks. "I bought this skirt ages ago but I haven't had a reason to wear it yet."

"What's the occasion now?" Emily watches as Hanna deftly twirls her hair around her fingers and applies handfuls of product to make it stay.

"Oh, you know." Hanna shrugs, picking up a handbag. "School."

"Uh-huh." Emily leads the way downstairs, where they grab some more coffee and some fruit, and then they head outside.

As they climb into Hanna's car, Emily feels suddenly light and carefree. She can't stop herself from thinking that she and Hanna look cute together, and the thought makes her smile.

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**For once it's not a cliffhanger! Buut, that means I feel the need to give you a little teaser, so here's a line from the next chapter:**

_Oh god, _she thinks_, please don't make the mission be about Hanna._


	20. The Message

**Yesterday was a very productive writing day for me, and you guys left such great reviews, so today you get two chapters. Enjoy. :)**

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"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Hanna says as they part ways. "Text me if you need?"

"Sure." Emily watches as Hanna flounces through the front door of the school and tosses a smile back over her shoulder. Instinctively Emily smiles back, but it slides from her face like melted ice cream a second later.

Slowly she pulls her phone from her pocket and reads the message.

**Hey Em! Time for your first mission! You excited?**

She turns around, trying to see Mona. There are high school kids milling about all over the place, but Emily can't see the one she's looking for.

**What do I have to do?** she replies.

A few minutes pass without a response. Frustrated, she shoves her phone back in her pocket and goes inside. She can barely concentrate on school because she's so distracted by the thought of her first mission. What horrible thing is Mona going to get her to do? Halfway through second period Spanish, her phone goes off again.

Even though it's on silent it still vibrates against her leg, making her jump. The guy next to her gives her a weird look, but she just ignores him and peeks at her phone under the desk.

**Meet me in the courtyard after school and we can discuss the details.**

Emily almost slams her textbook closed in frustration. If Mona's trying to kill her with suspense, she's likely to succeed. It's only second period; there's a lot of time left for her to come up with all sorts of horrible scenarios.

At lunch Emily sits down at their usual table, and is joined a few minutes later by Hanna.

"Hi," Hanna says cheerfully, sliding into the seat across from her. "How are you doing?"

She shrugs. Some part of her wants to tell Hanna about the text, but another part is fiercely protective of her friend and wants to keep her as far away from trouble as possible. "I'm doing okay," she replies noncommittally.

Hanna opens her mouth to reply, and then it snaps shut again as her eyes lock onto something in the far corner of the cafeteria. Emily turns around, expecting to see Jenna or Mona or somebody like that, and is startled to find that it's only Aria. She's sitting with a group of people from their year, tossing her hair back and laughing at something the boy next to her just said. She doesn't even look their way.

Emily picks up her fork and swirls some spaghetti around it. "You can go sit with her if you want. She's mad at me, not you."

"She can be mad at both of us if she wants," Hanna says. She pops the top off her soda, raises it to her lips, and then lowers it again. "I'm not leaving you, Emily."

Emily watches as Hanna takes a sip of her soda, and she wonders how anybody could be so forgiving. Had it really only been last night that she'd cried into her shoulder and admitted that she was the enemy now?

"You're a good friend, Hanna."

Hanna beams. "I try."

_Oh god, _she thinks_, please don't make the mission be about Hanna._

Emily's last period of the day is French. Spencer's also in this class, and normally they sit together and pass notes back and forth; it feels empty now, intimidating even. She sits in her usual seat up the back near the window, trying to pay attention as their doddery old French teacher rambles on about irregular verbs. But her mind wanders and her eyes drift over to Spencer's empty seat.

She hasn't been to visit her yet. She hasn't had the nerve. How the heck was she meant to sit in front of one of her best friends, see how bad she's hurting over the betrayal and death of her boyfriend, and resist the urge to grab her shoulders and shake her and tell her the truth? Toby isn't dead. He probably didn't even betray them. But that's not her secret to tell, and she has to keep her mouth shut.

She jumps when the bell rings. She hadn't noticed the passing of time, so caught up in her own mental mess. Now she shakes her head, trying to clear it, and heads for the door. She reaches it at the same time as somebody else, and instinctively she steps back to let them pass. As they do she glances up and notices who it is.

"Lucas -" she says, and he turns back slightly to see who said his name.

Then he raises an eyebrow and keeps walking. She starts to follow him, before she remembers that she doesn't have time. She stands for a moment, torn between chasing him down and demanding answers and going to meet Mona and learning her mission.

"Damn it," she mutters, and turns in the direction of the courtyard.

Mona is already there, lounging on one of the benches and absently sucking on a lollipop. Emily glances around, worried that Hanna or Aria might be watching. They're nowhere to be seen, so she makes her way over to Mona and sits down beside her.

"Make it quick, Mona."

"Touchy, touchy," she says, but she doesn't seem put off by Emily's brusqueness. "Now, since you're new and all, I didn't want to put too much pressure on you. So your first assignment is pretty easy."

Emily doesn't say anything, just stares at her until Mona finishes explaining.

"There's not much to it," Mona says. "I'm going to send you a photo, along with a number and a message. I just want you to send that photo and message to that number. Can you do that?"

Although she feels sick at the thought, wondering what she's going to have to send and what the consequences will be, Emily nods. "I'm sure I can handle that," she says. "But if that's all you needed to tell me, why did we have to meet? Couldn't you have just texted me the information?"

"Of course I could have." Mona flashes her a smile. "But where's the fun in that? You and I will be working pretty closely from now on, so we may as well get used to each other's company."

Apparently that's the end of the meeting, because she stands up and starts walking off. "I like your dress," she says over her shoulder, and then she's gone.

Emily watches her with a sinking feeling in her stomach. As soon as Mona's out of sight, she feels her phone go off. She ignores it for as long as she can, but suddenly the curiosity gets too much and she pulls it out, flipping it open with fumbling fingers, and reads the message.

Her mind is so frazzled that the words seem to blur, but she forces them into order and stares at the message on the screen. It takes a moment for it to sink in, but when it does, she feels sick to her stomach.

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**What do you guys think the mission is going to be?**


	21. The Visit

**I had to add this chapter in here because I love Spencer and she's barely been in this story so far. So I thought I should rectify that.**

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"What are you doing here?"

The voice is softer than usual, like a weary sigh. She's not even looking at Emily when she speaks; she's staring vacantly out the window.

"To see my friend," Emily answers, confused by her coldness.

"Don't let me keep you then." Her voice is sharper now, and Emily almost flinches.

"Spencer," Emily says. "I'm here to see _you_."

At this point her friend turns her head to look at her. But Spencer doesn't move her body, so it's still facing away from her; she's closed off, trying to keep her distance.

"I'm sorry, Spence," Emily says. She fiddles with her bracelets, not sure how much she should reveal. She needs to explain why she hasn't visited, but she can't do that properly without giving away the fact that Toby is alive. "I've just had a lot going on."

Spencer laughs, but there's no humor in it. "Really?"

Too late, Emily realizes her mistake. What kind of excuse is 'a lot going on' to a mental hospital patient? "I should have come sooner. I'm sorry."

She shrugs. "No rush. I'm going to be here for a while."

Emily bites her lip, unsure what kinds of questions she's allowed to ask. Then she reminds herself that it's Spencer, someone she's known and loved for years. She doesn't have to tiptoe around her.

"Spencer, why _are_ you here?"

The look Spencer gives Emily is the same look she gave the math teacher who got a formula wrong, or the history teacher who didn't know when the Cold War started. It makes Emily feel suddenly very small.

"You know why I'm here."

Emily ducks her head. "I know. I mean, I know what happened with… well, you know. And I get why you needed some time away. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and be by yourself for a while." She pauses. "Remember when I used to go running, at all sorts of weird hours?"

Spencer nods.

"That was my way of escaping," Emily explains. She hasn't talked about this before; it had always been private, almost secret. "Out there I was totally alone. I'd leave feeling stressed and worried and whatever else, and then I'd get back feeling… refreshed."

For a long moment Spencer just looks at her, and Emily wonders if she didn't hear. But then she cocks her head to the side and says thoughtfully, "And you think Radley was my way of escaping. You think I should be feeling refreshed now, all bright and ready to come home and start being _Spencer_ again. You think I should be better by now."

She says it like an accusation, which makes Emily feel defensive. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just confused about why you're still here. I get that you needed out, that you needed a break. But you've had that. I don't think you're going to get much better just staying here."

"Careful," Spencer says, "you're starting to sound like Hanna."

A few beats of silence pass as Emily tries to find a way to reply. Then Spencer raises her eyebrow and gives her a sardonic smile.

"I don't know why you're pushing us out," Emily says, ignoring the way Spencer's looking at her. "Cutting yourself off won't help you move through this."

"Do you know," Spencer says slowly, pulling herself upright and positioning herself so that she's actually facing Emily, "how I felt when I found out Toby was –A? Do you have _any_ idea what was going through my head when I saw him wearing that black hoodie?"

Although she tries to stop it, Emily travels back to the day behind the school, watching Paige complete her mission. She swallows, looking down at her hands. "I have a pretty good idea, actually."

Spencer looks sceptical.

"I found out -" Emily stops herself, wondering if she'd be putting Spencer in danger by telling her. But, she reasons, Hanna and Aria already know, so it doesn't seem fair to keep it from her anymore. "The other day, I was… I happened to come across something. Someone, rather."

She glances up. Spencer is watching her warily. It's not exactly encouraging, but it's clear she's listening. That's enough for now.

"I saw Paige," Emily says. "She was… wearing a black hoodie."

It seems to take a while for Spencer to process this. Suddenly it clicks, and for a moment she almost looks like she wants to hug Emily, like the old Spencer would have. But she's still keeping her guard up, keeping those invisible walls between them, so all she can manage is a mumbled, "I'm sorry."

It's a start, though, and Emily appreciates it. "I told you I had a lot going on," she says with a tired smile. "I just wasn't sure whether it was okay to talk to you about these things. I didn't want…"

"Didn't want poor fragile Spencer to crack?" Spencer says, but there's a slight twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Relax, Em. I'm not made of glass. You can talk to me like you used to. I mean, I already hit rock bottom, right? What could be worse than this?"

Emily searches in her mind for something reassuring, some little bit of hope to give her, but she comes up blank. She looks up to find Spencer smiling at her, almost laughing.

"What?" she asks. "What's so funny?"

"You look so upset, like a lost little puppy," Spencer says. "Like this is somehow your fault. Like you feel bad because you can't convince me to slap a smile on my face and walk out of here with my head held high. But don't feel bad about it, okay? It has nothing to do with you."

"I just wish -" She stops herself, trying to decide which track to go down. "I wish things were different. I wish you hadn't ended up here."

"And I wish we all lived in a world made of rainbows and glitter," Spencer says moodily, but there's a touch of amusement in it.

Emily smiles at her. This almost feels like the kind of conversations they used to have. She leans back in her chair, feeling closer to Spencer than she has in a month, and they start talking about trivial things, Emily catching her up on all the gossip around school and Spencer doing her best to look interested.

As visiting hours end Emily stands up, hesitates, and then reaches out. She doesn't hug her, but she grabs her hand for a moment, and that little action brings them closer than they've been in weeks. Spencer even smiles, although it's tinged with sadness. Emily says her farewells and heads for the door, completely unaware that if she just looked to the left she would see the tip of a black hoodie sticking out from under Spencer's pillow.

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**BAM.**

**Bet you weren't expecting that.**

**What do you think is going on? Speculations, theories, hypotheses?**


	22. The Mission

**Shoutout to AK, Santana4ever, and haveawish. Your enthusiasm for my story and your lovely reviews are what's keeping me going, so thank you so much.**

**To answer a couple of questions/concerns: yes, Spencer is involved, and yes, you (and Emily) will find out just how involved she is later on. Spencer doesn't know Emily is on the team; her coldness was just because Emily hadn't visited (I mean, wouldn't you be annoyed if your best friend didn't come visit you after a breakdown?). And there's been a reason for recruiting each of the members, which you'll find out gradually... and no, none of the other Liars are part of the team... maybe... probably not... but possibly... ;)**

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Emily is halfway home when her phone rings. After the night of the accident – which she now realises wasn't an accident, it was a setup - she's reluctant to answer the phone while driving, so she pulls over to the side of the road. By the time she does that it's stopped ringing, but a second later the person calls back. She puts on the parking brake, steels herself, and answers it.

"What the _hell_, Emily?"

She'd been expecting this. Mona's mission had been quite clear: send Aria a picture of her parents kissing, along with a snarky comment about families and keeping secrets. She'd known Aria would figure out it was her, and all afternoon she'd been trying to prepare herself for it. Although it wasn't the worst text any of them had ever gotten from –A, it was still significant; and the fact that Emily had sent it made it even worse.

"Aria, let me explain," she begs.

"There's nothing to explain," Aria snaps. "You sent that message, didn't you?"

"Yes." There's no point in denying it now.

"_Why_?"

"It was a _mission_. I couldn't say no or Mona would know something was up. I have to keep pretending I'm working with her if I want to be able to take down the team. You _know_ that."

"Working with the team I could maybe forgive," Aria says, her voice trembling with barely controlled rage. "I know you've been through a lot, with Toby and Paige and everything. And I get why you'd help Mona. If it can get us closer to stopping this, then I might be able to deal with it."

"So you're not angry about the text?" Emily asks, struggling to keep up.

"It's not about the text!" Aria bursts out. "You're on the A-Team, great, whatever. But you're still my friend, aren't you?"

"Of course!"

"Then why didn't you _tell_ me?"

Emily runs through a list of things she hasn't told Aria, and tries to find one that would produce this kind of reaction. "Tell you what?"

"About my parents!" Emily can picture Aria throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"What – oh." Emily's eyes widen. "Oh. God, Aria, I'm so sorry."

It hadn't even occurred to Emily to warn Aria about it. They hadn't really been on speaking terms, so she hadn't thought to tell Aria about her parents in person. She had let her find out via text – an –A-text, no less. She puts her hand over her face, cursing herself.

"I didn't even think to tell you," she moans. "Oh god, I'm so stupid. I should have -"

"Yes, you should have." Aria's voice is hard. "And I don't know why you didn't."

"Aria, I -" She's not even sure what she's going to say, how she could possibly defend herself, but she's interrupted anyway.

There's another call coming. She pulls her phone away from her ear and looks at the screen. When she sees who's calling, her blood runs cold. Slowly she raises the phone back to her, and hears Aria shouting.

"Aria, I have to go," she says, and hangs up without waiting for a reply. Then she carefully presses the Answer button and waits.

"Emily? Are you there?"

"I'm here." Her voice is barely more than a murmur.

"Good. I'm glad you're still talking to me."

"I'm _listening_ to you, Paige," Emily says. "I don't have anything to say to you."

She hears Paige exhale. "Can we meet?"

"Why?"

"I know that… I know you saw me," she says slowly. "I know you know who I am, what I've been doing."

"I know," Emily says, pouring all her pain and anger into those two simple words.

"I think we need to talk about it," Paige goes on, "but I don't want to do it over the phone. So will you meet me somewhere?"

Emily takes a long time to reply. She weighs her options in her mind. She could hang up right now, forget that Paige ever existed, and move on with her life. She could meet her, pretend to forgive her, and work on infiltrating the A-Team. Or she could meet with her, and find out what the hell happened.

"I'll meet you," she says. "Where?"

Paige gives her the address, and Emily starts to hang up.

"Wait," Paige says, and Emily pauses. "I – I'm sorry about this. I really am."

Emily opens her mouth, then closes it again. There's nothing to say. She hangs up, trying not to picture Paige's disappointed face. Paige is the enemy now… but then she reminds herself of Toby, and how he was helping her. Were all A-Team members really trying to hurt them? Or were there others like Emily, pretending to help Mona so they could try to save the girls?

She pulls back onto the road, her head swirling with all these thoughts. She needs help sorting through them. She needs someone to talk to about this. And she knows just the person.

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**While there's a bit of a lull in the story, I want to take this opportunity to ask a question. I'm still a fair way ahead in writing, so I'm getting up towards the end of the story. I know how the last scene's going to start out, but I don't know how it's going to end. So since you guys have been so lovely, I thought you could give me some input. What kind of ending do you want? Happy? Sad? Surprising? Bittersweet? Tell me what you want and I'll see what I can do. :)**


	23. The Combination

**Thanks for the reviews and feedback, everyone. Keep giving me suggestions for the ending, because I'm definitely still in the planning stages so I'll try to incorporate as many of your ideas into the ending as I can. :)**

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"Is this a popcorn occasion or more of a chocolate kind of talk?" Hanna asks, wandering into the kitchen.

Emily looks up from her place on the lounge. "I'm not really hungry, Hanna."

While Hanna busies herself getting an assortment of snacks, Emily stares at a spot on the floor and thinks. She's meeting Paige in less than an hour, and she has no idea what to expect. The past couple of weeks have been a complete mess. Her accident, joining the A-Team, finding out about Lucas and Jason, finding out about Paige, talking to Toby, fighting with Aria… so much has happened that she's still trying to wrap her head around it.

"Here you go," Hanna says, sitting down beside her and handing her a bowl of popcorn.

Although she'd said she wasn't hungry, the sight makes Emily's stomach growl and she realizes she's hardly eaten all day. She picks up a handful of popcorn, but Hanna grabs her hand and says, "Wait."

Emily raises an eyebrow as Hanna tosses her a packet of chocolate.

"Really?" Emily says.

"You didn't tell me if you wanted chocolate or popcorn," Hanna says, "so I got you both. Eat some together. They taste really good, I promise."

Emily is sceptical, but the look Hanna's giving her makes her melt. She tries the chocolate-popcorn combination, and to her surprise it _is_ good.

"I told you," Hanna says, giggling and chucking some popcorn and chocolate into her own mouth.

For a few minutes they eat their junk food and talk about all sorts of nonsense. At one point they start singing together, one of their favorite songs that's always on the radios these days, and Emily feels happier than she has in days. But their popcorn runs out and their frivolity comes to an end.

"So what's going on?" Hanna asks, crumpling up the chocolate wrappers and throwing them at the trash. She misses, and gets up to retrieve them.

"I had my first mission today," Emily says.

Hanna freezes, halfway through picking up the wrappers, and turns around. "Who?"

"Aria." Emily hesitates. "I… her parents have been meeting each other. Mona had photos of it. She made me send one to Aria, along with a message."

"How'd she take it?" Hanna puts the wrappers in the trash and goes back to her seat.

"Bad," Emily says, looking at her lap. "She called me on my way back from Radley -"

"Wait, Radley?" Hanna interrupts. "You went to see Spencer?"

"Yeah. After school today."

"Okay. Let's talk about that first. Why did you go to see her?"

"What do you mean, why?" Emily tilts her head, confused. "She's my friend."

"Well yeah, obviously," Hanna says. "But I mean, you've been avoiding her. You haven't gone to see her yet, and you're always making excuses so you don't have to visit her with me and Aria. What made you go today?"

Emily hadn't really thought about why she was going; she had just suddenly had the urge to talk to her friend. But now she thinks about it, she knows why she needed to go there. She hadn't achieved what she'd hoped, but she'd still needed to go.

"This is going to sound silly," Emily warns, and Hanna gestures for her to go on. "Do you remember when we found out Spencer was in Radley? Aria said that I wasn't the weakest link, that I never was. She said it had been Spencer the whole time."

"And you wanted to talk to her," Hanna says. "You needed to know what made her snap, find out if you were really the weakest link."

"And I guess I am," Emily says. "I mean, Mona chose me, right? Spencer refused her, she stood up to her, and look at what it did to her. But I gave in long before that. I didn't let it get to that point because I just let Mona get to me, I practically sold my soul to the devil, and for what?"

"For love!" Hanna says, and then bursts out laughing at how overdramatic that is.

Her laugh is so infectious that Emily joins in, and they end up collapsed in a heap on the floor with tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. Eventually Hanna pulls herself into a sitting position and sighs.

"But seriously, Em, you thought you were doing the right thing," she says. "You thought helping Mona was the only way to find Paige. I respect that."

"Yeah, well, I guess I shouldn't have bothered," Emily says gloomily. "Paige doesn't care about me. I'm not sure she ever did."

"Then she's dumber than I am," Hanna says, cheerfully self-deprecating. "Really, Em, you're beautiful. You're sweet and funny and loyal, and anyone would be lucky to have you in their life. And if the people in your life can't see how much you're worth, they're not worth your time. Okay?"

Emily's expression softens; she can't seem to stay serious when Hanna's around. "Thanks, Han."

"Anytime." She squeezes her thigh in a friendly way, but her hand lingers for just a second too long. "Now, what movie do you want to watch?"

Emily glances at her watch. "I can't stay, actually," she says. "I have somewhere to be."

To her relief Hanna doesn't ask where she's going, although she already had a lie lined up just in case. She knows Hanna would never let her go meet Paige alone, but she also knows that this is something she has to do by herself.

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**Here's a little teaser from the next chapter:**

_She'd defended her against Spencer's accusations, Hanna's distrust, Aria's scepticism. But maybe they'd been right all along._

**Stay ****tuned, it will be up soon!**


	24. The Reward

**As always, thanks for the reviews and keep them coming! :)**

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Ten minutes later she's sitting on a park bench in the shadow of an oak tree, wondering if she's making the biggest mistake of her life. Paige is on the A-Team. Emily is meeting her here, alone, without telling Hanna or Aria where she is. So many things could go wrong that it hurts her head just to think about them.

"Hey, stranger," says a soft voice to her right, making her jump. Paige appears out of the shadows and sits down beside her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Emily looks at Paige, and then very purposefully moves along the bench so she's further away. Paige looks at the increased distance between them and sighs.

"Guess I should've seen that one coming, huh?"

"Paige, drop the act," Emily says. Normally she wouldn't be so blunt, but these past couple weeks have taken a toll on her. She just wants it all to be over already. "You said we needed to talk, so talk."

Paige leans back, folding her arms, and surveys Emily. "I've been a part of this for a long time," she admits. "Since before I met you. At first it was – it was about Alison. It was just a way for me and Mona to get back at her."

"You were the original A-Team?" Emily questions. "You were the ones sending her those messages before she died?"

"Yeah." Paige grimaces. "And then she died. I thought that was the end of it, but… it kind of snowballed. Mona thought that you and the other girls were just as guilty as Alison was, and wanted to turn her attention onto you. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen to me. Then she approached Jason, who felt the same way. They started planning the new A-Team; I swear they wrote up a manifesto and everything."

She waits for Emily to laugh, but when she doesn't she keeps going.

"By the time Aria got back they were ready to start their plan. I didn't really want to help, but they talked me into it," she says. "I'm not entirely sure when Lucas and Toby joined the team – Mona saw I was kind of reluctant, so she didn't fill me in on much. And then I started getting closer to you, and she got suspicious. But I couldn't help it; I was falling for you."

Emily interrupts, her voice dangerously low. "Really? I may not be an expert on these things, but I'm pretty sure if you like someone you're meant to get them flowers, not put them in a hospital."

"You got flowers when you were in the hospital at least," Paige points out. Seeing Emily's stony expression, she backtracks. "Too soon for jokes, huh?"

Emily looks away, staring into the trees. She'd trusted Paige. She thought she'd known her. She'd defended her against Spencer's accusations, Hanna's distrust, Aria's scepticism. But maybe they'd been right all along.

Paige clears her throat, then carries on with her story. "I wanted to back out when I started dating you," she says. "But Mona… she reminded me of why we started this. She reminded me of all the things Alison did, all the things you guys let her do… and I realized I couldn't leave. I couldn't stop, not until I'd made you pay for what you did.

Emily glances back at her, startled by the venom in her voice. She's never heard Paige sound this angry, and it scares her a little. "So you kept going because you really did want to hurt us?"

"Not you," Paige amends. "I mean, not anymore. You're an amazing person, Em. I do really care about you. You were never the worst; the others let Alison get away with a lot more. I think you've paid for what you did. You're still paying for it every day. I know how much guilt you feel, how much you wish you'd done something different. I don't think we need to punish you anymore."

"Gee, thanks," Emily says dryly. "I feel all warm and fuzzy now."

"Your friends, though," Paige says. "They… Mona's still targeting them. She's not going to stop. But…"

"But what?"

"Do you know why I'm here?" Paige asks.

"Because you wanted to meet?"

"Well, yes. But it was Mona's idea, actually," she admits. "She said that since you went through with your first mission, since you're really on our side, that I could come back to you."

"Come back to me?" Emily echoes. "What do you mean? Where were you?"

Paige hesitates. "I didn't know what was going to happen when I sent you that SOS," she says. "Mona just told me that I needed to distract you; she never said you'd get hurt. I wanted to come and see you in the hospital, but then she offered me a deal."

Emily raises an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"

"She said if I did everything she told me to, and if _you_ did everything she told you to, we could be together again," Paige explains, and Emily feels her stomach sinking. "I'm your reward for going through with your mission. And if you stay loyal to the A-Team, then you're safe. We'll stop going after you."

"And in return all I have to do is torture my friends," Emily says. "Lucky me."

"Don't you want to be happy?" Paige asks, reaching for her hand. Emily pulls it away before she can touch it. "Come on, Em. If you choose me, we can be happy together. You'll be safe, and you'll be mine."

"I'm not yours anymore," Emily says softly, staring at her feet. The words hurt her, but she knows she has to say them. She looks up, into eyes she used to get lost in. "I can never forgive you for this. Don't you get that?"

Paige looks hurt. "I know I've done some horrible things, but -"

"No." Emily stands up. "Don't even try to defend yourself. I've heard everything you have to say. I don't need to hear anymore."

"Emily," Paige says imploringly, as the dark-haired girl starts walking away. "Please just -"

"Don't," Emily says, whirling around. "I can't believe you would do this to me. You've put me and my friends through hell, do you understand?"

"I'm sorry -"

"Sorry's not good enough," Emily snaps. "Your love for me could never overcome your hatred of Alison. How could I ever be with you, knowing that?"

"I -" Paige stands up, seeming desperate to get through to her.

"It was a rhetorical question," Emily says coldly. "We're done, Paige. Don't try to contact me."

Then she spins on her heel and storms off, hoping Paige can't see the tears that come pouring down her face.

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**Aw, poor Ems. This scene was hard to write, but it was necessary. You'll see why next chapter.**


	25. The Consolation

**You guys have been so patient. Truth be told I'm a little nervous about posting this chapter, but I really hope you like it. Please review and let me know what you think. :)**

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When Hanna shows up ten minutes later, Emily is slumped against a wall in an alleyway, still crying. She doesn't look up when Hanna approaches, barely even reacts when Hanna crouches down beside her.

"Em?" Hanna says softly. "You sounded really upset on the phone. What happened?"

Wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt, Emily takes a shuddering breath and tries to talk. But all that happens is that she takes one look at Hanna's concerned expression and starts crying again.

"Oh, Em," Hanna says sympathetically, settling herself beside her.

Emily is dimly aware of Hanna's hand on her shoulder, and she does feel the slightest bit comforted. But after all that's happened, it's going to take a lot more than that to get her through it all. Her heart hadn't just been broken; it had been smashed into tiny pieces, and if she tried to pick any up she'd just stab herself on a shard. She wonders if this is how Spencer felt when she found out about Toby. She wonders if soon she'll end up like Spencer, catatonic, in the woods alone at night… ending up in Radley.

"Come on, Em," Hanna says encouragingly, rubbing Emily's back. "Talk to me. What happened? Did you and Aria have a fight?"

Emily shakes her head, her hair falling into her face and getting stuck in the tear tracks. Hanna gently brushes the hair away and tucks it behind Emily's ear; the two share a long look, and then Hanna pulls her hand away and clears her throat.

"What, then? Did Mona make you do something else?"

Another shake of the head.

"Was it Paige?"

At the sound of the name, Emily has to work hard to hold back a whimper. Hanna knows she's onto it now.

"What happened? Did she hurt you?"

For a minute Emily just stares at a crack in the sidewalk; she knows if she looks at Hanna the tears will start again. She's tired of crying.

Finally, she whispers, "She didn't hurt me. She _broke_ me."

For once, Hanna doesn't argue. She doesn't try to convince her that she's not broken, or give her some heartfelt speech about how amazing she is. "Do you remember when I first started dating Caleb?" she says instead.

Emily looks up, confused at where this is going. She nods.

"And I found out that Jenna was using him to spy on me?" Hanna picks at a spot on her shirt; although this happened a long time ago, she clearly hasn't been able to entirely move on from it yet. "I felt betrayed. I felt abandoned. I felt like my whole world was crashing down and nothing would ever be okay again. I felt broken too, Em."

"How did you get through it?" Emily asks, her voice catching on a sob.

"Slowly," Hanna replies. "And I wouldn't have been able to get through it without you guys. But the further away from that moment I got, the more I realized what I'd been missing. What I'd been letting myself miss. Every moment I spent feeling sorry for myself or hating Caleb was a moment I could have spent laughing with you, or studying with Spencer, or gossiping with Aria. Worse than that, every moment I wasted was one I could have spent _shopping_!"

This gets a laugh out of Emily, who looks surprised. She can't remember the last time she laughed.

Hanna smiles. "My point is, it's done, it's over. Don't waste your time thinking someone broke you, or wondering how you're going to move on. Just do it."

"Easier said than done," Emily mumbles.

"Oh, I never said it would be easy," Hanna says. "But it's what you have to do. Sometimes life sucks, but we deal with it and we get on with it."

Emily lets a few minutes of silence pass while she mulls it over. Hanna doesn't pressure her, just sits there and rubs her back and lets her think. If Emily lets herself forget about Paige for a second, this is a nice moment. She's here with her favorite person, someone she knows would do anything for her, and she feels… safe.

"I just… what if I can't move on?" Emily asks at last. "I mean, Spencer's stronger and smarter and _better_ than I am. But look at what happened to her. What if I break like that? What if I end up in Radley too?"

"Then I'll visit you every day with homemade cookies, piles of magazines, and all the gossip you could want," Hanna says with a grin. "I'll sit with you until they kick me out, and then I'll come right back in the next day and do the whole thing again."

For the second time, Emily lets out a surprised laugh. God, this girl is amazing.

"You're not alone, Em," Hanna says, quiet but passionate. "No matter where you end up or who you end up with, I'm here for you."

Her words seem to take away some of Emily's pain. She's not sure how, but she doesn't question it. She leans against Hanna's shoulder, and Hanna wraps her arm around her. They sit like that for a long time, until Emily's breathing becomes regular again, until the tears stop, until the panicked pain subsides and is replaced by a kind of numbness. It's like being sedated, like being anaesthetised. It's not great, but it's better than agony.

She turns to Hanna, looking up into her eyes. "How did I ever end up with such an amazing friend?"

"You're pretty amazing yourself," Hanna says softly.

They share another one of those lingering looks, but this time neither one looks away. Even through her numbness, Emily can see something in Hanna's eyes: an unspoken question, a longing, held back by doubts. And without thinking she responds, her eyelashes fluttering to match her suddenly frantic heart. Hanna seems to recognise this, because she leans forward, her eyes searching, hesitant.

Their lips meet, and Emily's eyes fly wide open in shock. Hanna feels her hesitation and pulls back, searching her face.

"Was that… was that not okay?" she asks tentatively.

Emily considers. She looks at Hanna's face, at those features that are as familiar to her as her own, and suddenly they look different. She's seeing her in a new light, the kind of bright light that makes her irresistible. She pulls herself up so that they're at eyelevel with each other.

"That," she says emphatically, " was _very_ okay."

She takes a second to register Hanna's surprised smile, and then she leans in and their lips meet again. This time neither of them pulls away for a long time, until they're both flushed, breathless, and unutterably happy.

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**I promised you Hannily, didn't I? Don't ever say I don't deliver. ;)**


	26. The Question

**Yay! I'm so happy you guys liked my last chapter. :)**

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"Do we really have to do this?" Emily asks, fiddling with her seatbelt.

Hanna glances over at her from the driver's side. "We don't have to," she says, "but I think it would be good if we did."

"What if she still hates me?"

Hanna's expression softens and she brushes some of Emily's hair away from her face, pausing to cup her chin with her hand. "Nobody could ever hate you, Em."

Emily closes her eyes, loving the feel of Hanna's skin against her own. She thinks back to the kiss in the alleyway and suppresses a giggle.

Hanna raises an eyebrow, placing her hand back on the steering wheel and taking the next corner way too wide. "You're thinking about that kiss, aren't you?" she accuses.

"Maybe," Emily says, her blush giving her away.

"Gosh, Emily, you're so immature," Hanna says sternly, and then dissolves into a fit of giggles.

Emily isn't sure what this all means. She and Paige are over, that's for sure, but does she really want to _date_ Hanna? What would happen if they broke up? She looks over at the blond-haired beauty, who's flicking through radio stations with the hint of a smile on her face. She finds a station she likes and starts singing, tossing her hair over her shoulder and flashing Emily the kind of smile that makes her heart skip a beat.

_Since when is Hanna into girls anyway?_ Emily thinks. _I thought that was my thing._

"Do you remember that trip we all took one summer?" Hanna says, turning the music down a bit. "Your dad took us all camping."

"Yeah, down by the lake," Emily says, picturing the expanse of blue water, the shoreline that seemed to stretch on forever, the sight of her four best friends sprawled out in the sun. "I remember."

"That whole trip up there was a nightmare," Hanna says, laughing. "Remember how Aria kept wanting to listen to that awful country station?"

"And you were sitting up the front and you kept slapping her hand away from the controls," Emily adds, joining in with the laughter. "And then you shouted at her and she got all upset, and then Spencer yelled at you for yelling at her, and Ali was just laughing at the lot of you."

"And the whole time you were just singing along to the music, doing your best to ignore all of us."

"It didn't work well. You guys were so loud!"

"God." Hanna shakes her head, smiling. "We were such dorks."

"You're still kind of a dork," Emily teases.

"Hey, watch it!" Hanna cries, mock-offended.

Emily flutters her eyelashes and Hanna's smile reappears like sun from behind a cloud.

"It's weird how times have changed," Emily says, leaning back in her seat. "I mean, who'd ever have thought things would turn out like they did?"

"The past year has been one crazy ride," Hanna agrees. "I don't think we could have predicted any of it."

"I'm not sure I'd have wanted to," Emily says. "If I'd known what was going to happen, maybe I would have just moved to Texas."

Although her tone is carefully light, Hanna picks up on the emotion behind it.

"Hey, it hasn't been all bad, has it? I mean, if you'd moved to Texas, we wouldn't have…"

She winks, and Emily feels her heart melt. What she wouldn't give just to be able to - wait. This isn't right. This is way too soon. She's still not over Paige; she's still in a vulnerable state. She shouldn't be thinking thoughts like this. And besides, since when is Hanna even gay anyway?

"I guess you're right," she says. "I mean, what happened back in the alley, that was… it was nice."

Hanna looks over at her. "Nice?"

"You know what I mean," Emily says. "It was great. It made me feel -"

She doesn't finish her sentence, but Hanna knows what she means.

"Me too."

A few moments of silence pass, and then Emily works up the nerve to ask the question she's been dying to ask.

"Hanna, what did happen back there?"

"Well, I don't know what you think, but I was kind of under the impression that we kissed," Hanna says mockingly.

Emily resists the urge to make a smart alec comment. "I know _that_. I just mean… how did that happen?"

"Well, when two people like each other -"

"Hanna!" Emily protests, good-natured, and the other girl rolls her eyes.

"All right, all right," she says. "I don't know what happened. I mean, I do, and I'm glad it happened. But how it happened… I guess I've been sort of having feelings for you."

"You don't say?" Emily raises an eyebrow, teasing.

"Are you going to let me finish?" Hanna pouts.

Emily gestures for her to go on. "Sorry."

"For a few weeks," Hanna continues. "It started a few weeks ago. Actually I guess it started before that, back when you came out. When we realized you were, you know -"

"Hanna, you can say 'gay'," Emily interjects. "It's not a dirty word."

"Right." Hanna looks at her out of the corner of her eye. "So when we found out you were gay, it got me thinking. But then I was really happy with Caleb, so I didn't question it much. Not until he went away to California again, and we decided to take a break. Then I just… my mind wandered. And it kept coming back to you."

Emily feels a delighted sort of bubble working its way into her chest. She hasn't felt this way since she first started dating Paige.

"So a while ago, you realized you liked girls too?" Emily asks.

Hanna pauses for a moment, looking reflective. They reach their destination and she pulls over, switching off the engine and winding up the window before turning to Emily, a twinkle in her eye. "Not girls," she says quietly. "Just you."

Before Emily has time to let that sink in, Hanna's unbuckled her seatbelt and is leaning over towards her. Instinctively Emily closes her eyes, waiting for that moment when their lips touch again. When it comes, the bubble becomes a fountain of good feelings and she lets it wash over her, warm and welcome. Screw Paige. This feels right in a way that nothing ever has.

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**There wasn't much of a point to this chapter. I just wanted to write some more Hannily.**


	27. The News

**Okay, this next bit might seem a bit random, but I assure you that it fits into the storyline. You'll see how in a few chapters.**

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Her happiness starts to disappear as she hovers on the doorstep, one hand outstretched as she tries to force herself to knock on the door.

"It'll be fine," Hanna says, coming up behind her. "I've got your back."

Emily half-turns and gives her a suggestive look. "You can have some other parts too, if you want."

"Save it for the bedroom," Hanna retorts, giggling.

Emily takes a moment just to look at her, to take in all her features: her lively eyes, her bright smile, the way her hair falls over her face so that she keeps impatiently brushing it off. Normally Emily would never be that daring with someone she'd only just kissed; she'd take it slow, searching, getting to know them. But with Hanna, it's different. She makes her feel alive, exhilarated, like she's about to jump out of a plane, but totally safe because she knows she has an unbreakable parachute.

She's also there to ground her, as she reminds her by saying, "Come on, Em. Just do it."

Emily sighs, and then knocks on the door. When nobody answers she turns around to leave, but Hanna grabs her arm and reaches for the handle. The unlocked door swings open easily, and Emily reluctantly follows Hanna inside.

They can hear Aria's voice coming from the kitchen, so they make their way through the house until they reach it. As soon as Hanna reaches the doorway she starts talking. "Aria, you and Emily need to talk this through. We've all been through a lot and we just need to sit down and -"

Aria looks up from where she's seated at the kitchen table. Her eyes take in Hanna and she tilts her head curious, and then she sees Emily and her gaze hardens. Then she switches her attention back to the phone.

"No, Mom, I'm still here," she says, gesturing for the girls to come in.

Emily sits down across from Aria and waits. Normally she'd make herself at home, grabbing a soda or some fruit out of the bowl in front of her, but now she's more reserved. She doesn't know where she stands with Aria, although she has a feeling it's on thin ice. She figures it's best to tread gently around her for now.

For a while she listens to Aria's conversation, but it's mostly just things like 'I know' and 'How?' and 'What?', so she tunes out. Hanna's sitting beside her, and although they're not touching Emily can feel the electricity between them. She wants to hold her hand, to brush her hair away from her face, to just be _with_ her, but she knows that doing so in front of Aria would definitely not help the situation. So she contents herself with looking at Hanna, and she wonders how they got to this point.

Looking back she realizes that there had been signs. When she'd found out about Paige, she'd gone to Hanna. And tonight it had been Hanna she'd called after her breakup. Even though Hanna was her only choice, what with Aria mad at her and Spencer still in Radley, she knows that she would have called her anyway. She loved all the girls, and would do anything for them, but there was something different about Hanna. It had taken her a while to pick up on it, and even then she hadn't let herself consciously acknowledge it because she'd been dating Paige.

But now she was single, technically, and free to explore. She knew it was way too soon, and she should take some time. Her brain kept telling her this, but her heart stubbornly refused to listen and urged her to grab Hanna's hand and drag her to the bedroom and –

She blushes even thinking about it.

"Is he going to be okay?" Aria's voice is soft, worried.

Emily tunes back in, wondering what's happening. Aria listens intently for a minute, then says, "Okay, thanks, Mom," and hangs up. She puts her phone on the counter, then leans forward, her elbows in the table and her head in her hands.

"Aria?" Hanna prompts. "Is everything okay?"

She clasps her hands under her chin and looks at her friends. "That was my mom," she explains, although that much was evident. "She was at the hospital with Mike earlier, he was getting an x-ray or something."

"Is he okay?" Emily asks.

Aria turns her eyes to her, and Emily is relieved to see that a lot of the hurt has faded from them. The last time she saw Aria, the smaller girl looked confused and betrayed. Now she just looks sad. It's not much better, but it's a start.

"Yeah." Aria looks down at her lap, then back up to her friends. "But she found out something else while she was there. She thought we'd want to know because she knows he's helped us out before, and that he's close to Spencer."

"Thought we'd want to know what?" Emily's heart is in her throat. She can't handle any more bad news. She's just been given this golden ray of happiness in the form of Hanna, and she can't lose that to more turmoil and trouble.

Aria takes a deep breath. "It's Wren," she says after a moment. "He's in the hospital. He was in a car crash and… they're not sure if he's going to wake up."

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**Teaser from the next chapter:**

_She's not cold, exactly, but she's… distant. "After how you've been acting lately, I wouldn't be surprised."_

**Who do you think that's about?**

**The faster you all review, the faster the next chapter will be out!**


	28. The Reconciliation

**I've mentioned I love you guys, right? Honestly, I would have probably given up on this story a long time ago if it weren't for your support and encouragement.**

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The words hang in the air until Emily picks them up and tries them out. "Wren's in the hospital?"

Aria nods slowly. "He's been there for a couple of days, and he hasn't woken up."

"Oh god, that's awful." Hanna looks horrified. "Does Spencer know? They were… close."

Emily gives Hanna a curious look. She seems more upset than she should be. Sure, Emily is concerned for Wren – he's a nice guy, and he's helped them before – but Hanna looks like this is actually hurting her. Emily reaches for her hand and holds it for a few moments. Hanna gives her a grateful look.

Aria narrows her eyes slightly, and Emily feels her heart miss a beat. Does she know there's something going on between them? But she doesn't say anything about it. Instead she says, "I think Melissa's going to talk to Spencer tomorrow. She'll call us if there's any change. Spencer… she'd want us to go and see him."

"She could go see him herself if she'd check out of that damn place," Hanna says.

"Han, she's not ready," Aria says patiently. "She told us that. We can't force her to get better. We just have to wait until she feels ready."

"Yeah, well, I still think she'd get better a lot faster if she just checked out."

"She seems like she's getting better," Emily offers.

"You've seen her?" Aria asks, her voice sharp.

"Yeah," Emily responds cautiously. "Today."

The look Aria gives her makes her feel uncomfortable. She meets her gaze for a moment, and then she realizes what the other girl is silently implying.

"You don't think I'd hurt her, do you?" Emily asks.

"I don't know what to think," Aria replies. She's not cold, exactly, but she's… distant. "After how you've been acting lately, I wouldn't be surprised."

"No." Hanna stands up suddenly, wrapping a protective arm around Emily's shoulders. "You don't get to criticize. Until you've gone through what Emily's had to go through, you don't get to make a judgment."

Aria opens her mouth to defend herself, but Hanna keeps ploughing on.

"You've never had to make that kind of a choice, so you wouldn't know. But how would you feel if Jason disappeared and the only way to find him was to help Mona? Wouldn't you make the same choice? Wouldn't you give up everything for him?"

Although she looks like she wants to argue, Aria just ducks her head. "I suppose."

"Good," Hanna says, her voice becoming more firm. "So you can't blame Emily for that."

"I don't," Aria bursts out, and then bites her lip. Her voice softer, she goes on, "I don't blame you for that, Em. I was hurt that you didn't tell us, but I get it. And I'm sorry I took off. It was just a lot to deal with, and I didn't know how to process it all."

"And I wasn't sure how to tell you," Emily says. "I didn't want to hurt you. And I still don't. I love you."

Aria hesitates, and then says softly, "I love you too."

A rush of relief floods through Emily, but it's cut short as Aria continues.

"But I'm not sure I trust you. You're on the A-Team now, which means that no matter how much you wish you weren't, you're under Mona's control. She pretty much owns you, Em."

"I know." Emily looks away. Her eyes travel along the table, across the room, trying to find somewhere to land that isn't the concerned eyes of either of her friends.

When Emily doesn't go on, Aria pulls at a loose thread on her sleeve. Then she looks up, and Emily reluctantly meets her eyes. "Do you promise you didn't hurt Spencer?"

"I swear, Aria, I didn't hurt her," Emily says passionately. "You've known me for years, and you know I wouldn't do something like that. I'm sorry I kept this from you. I'm sorry I let you find out about your parents that way. I'm sorry I've made a mess of things."

_And I'm sorry that I can't tell you Jason is on the A-Team_, she adds silently. She still wants to tell her, but it's not the right time. If she told her, Aria would do something impulsive and emotional, and it would probably get all of them into serious trouble. She needs to play it safe for now.

"Things were already in a mess," Aria says after a long silence. "You were just trying to make them right."

"Does this -?" Emily hesitates, trying to read her friend's face. "Are we okay?"

Aria doesn't answer for so long that Emily thinks she's not going to say anything. But then she smiles. "Yeah," she says, reaching out and grabbing Emily's hand. "We're okay."

"Finally," Hanna exclaims, then goes over to the fridge and pulls out a tub of ice cream. She grabs three spoons and sets them on the table. "You guys took forever to make up. I hate it when any of us fight."

"I'm sorry," Aria says, partly to Hanna but mostly to Emily.

"Me too." Emily smiles, squeezing her hand.

"So what happened with your parents?" Hanna asks, digging her spoon into the ice cream.

Emily and Aria let go of each other's hands and reach for the spoons. After that moment things go back to semi-normal. There's still a tiny bit of tension, an almost imperceptible distance between all of them, but no one comments on it. Aria explains that she talked to her mom about it, and she and her dad are going to talk to her and Mike later and clear the air.

"So I guess it's actually a good thing you sent me that message," Aria says.

Emily pauses with a spoonful of choc-chip ice cream halfway to her mouth. "Glad to be of service," she says, with a tentative laugh.

To her surprise Aria laughs too, and then they slide into lighter topics and everything feels almost like it used to. Emily lets herself relax. Things aren't great, but they could be worse. She's not alone, and maybe together they can find a way to stop –A once and for all.

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_"__I think it's time we stopped keeping secrets." _

**Coming up in the next few chapters will be visits to Spencer and Wren, a breakdown, and some answers. Stay tuned...**


	29. The Dream

**Thanks for the lovely reviews, as always. :)**

**A couple of you have asked about why Hanna's so upset about Wren - this isn't something that I plan to go into in this story, but early in season three they kind of almost had a thing. I think it's around 3x08 when they kiss, and although Hanna decides it's better not to let it go further, I like to think she's still a little bit attracted to him. I mean, come on, who wouldn't be?**

**But don't worry, it's not going to get in the way of Hannily.**

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That night Emily dreams again. It's the same as before – she's talking to Toby, and then she's standing by the road. There's the sound of a twig snapping, but this time she ignores it and looks the other way, where she sees Paige standing in the middle of the road, her face strangely illuminated by the streetlight that shouldn't be there. Paige lifts her hand as if to wave, half a smile on her face, and Emily moves to wave back. Then she sees what's really happening. A second later Emily ducks as Paige hurls the knife at her.

Paige is calling out to her, something that sounds like an apology, but Emily ignores her and dashes off into the woods, towards where the twig snapped. There's a figure up ahead, and she's desperate to reach them. The trees seem to shrink away from her, so she covers the distance easily. Her feet pound across the ground, her heart and her breath catching in her throat. She can feel that tugging, that desire to be with the person, that need to catch up to them.

She catches up as the trees end, and, as before, she flings herself at them. They roll on the ground, over and over until they stop across the road. She looks down, and the face, again, is obscured by shadow. She reaches out a tentative hand, as if to brush the shadows away, and whispers, "Who are you?"

Suddenly the features come into bright focus.

"You know who I am, silly," says Hanna, pulling Emily's head down into a kiss.

This time when she wakes up, she doesn't feel cold. She lies in bed for as long as she can, trying to hold onto that feeling. She runs through the events of the night before. Arguing with Paige, reconciling with Aria… kissing Hanna. She lets out a happy sigh. At least one thing is going right for her at the moment.

Her good mood lasts until she gets to school, where Aria and Hanna are waiting. They walk to their lockers together, and Aria starts talking at once.

"I think we need to tell Spencer about Wren," she says.

"Has there been any change?" Hanna asks.

Aria shakes her head. "The doctors say it's not looking good."

"Wait," Emily says, stopping at her locker and leaning against it. "Wasn't Melissa going to talk to her about it?"

"Apparently she decided it's not a good idea," Aria explains. "She called me this morning and said she wasn't going to tell her anymore, and that we shouldn't either. Something about her being fragile or unstable or something."

"She has a point," Hanna says, and then recoils under the glares the others give her. "I don't think Spencer's crazy. I just mean, hasn't she been through enough? Do we really need to dump this on her too?"

"I think it's time we stopped keeping secrets." Aria says this carefully, not looking at Emily, but the meaning is still clear. She still hasn't quite moved on.

Hanna opens her mouth, but Emily cuts in.

"I think she's right," she says, and the others both look surprised. "I mean, I already told her about Paige. She handled that pretty well. So I think we should give her a chance, let her try to deal with things."

"Yeah," Aria says. "Maybe if she knows that she's needed out here, if she thinks there's something she could do to help, she might want to get out of Radley sooner."

"I'm going to tell her about me," Emily says, startling even herself. She hadn't consciously made that decision, but now she feels that it's right.

"Whoa, Em, are you sure?" Aria raises her eyebrows.

Emily takes a second to consider, and then she nods. "I'm sure. It's not fair keeping this from her."

"All right." Aria still seems unconvinced, despite her earlier eagerness for coming clean.

They arrange to meet at Hanna's after school and drive over to Radley together. Emily spends the entire day worrying about it. Although she's sure it's the right thing to do, telling Spencer about her involvement in the A-Team, she doesn't know how exactly to go about it. Aria and Hanna hadn't exactly reacted brilliantly at first, and Spencer might take offence at being the last to be told. What if telling her _does_ make her worse? Toby's apparent betrayal had broken her, but what if Emily's completely destroys her?

As she sits in Hanna's kitchen while they wait for Aria, she thinks about all the secrets she's still keeping. Toby's alive. Jason and Lucas are part of the A-Team. She'd been intending to tell Aria about Toby, but she'd stormed out of the house after finding out about Emily being on the A-Team and the topic hadn't come up since. Hanna's close to Lucas, even though they've drifted a bit, and Emily knows that if Hanna knew he was on the team, she'd do something stupid and possibly illegal. And if she told Aria about Jason, she'd have to break it off with him, which would make Mona suspicious. So it's better if she keeps it all to herself… right?

"Ready to go?" Aria asks, leaning against the doorframe.

Emily stands up. "Ready," she says.

But in truth she's not sure she'll ever be ready to have this conversation.

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**This chapter's shoutout is to lu-orsolon. It's people like you who keep me writing, so please keep reviewing and let me know if you're enjoying it. :)**


	30. The Conversation

**I may be a bit slower to update over the next couple of days; I have some major assignments I need to work on (don't you hate when real-world things get in the way of writing?!) but I'll still try to post at least a chapter a day.**

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Spencer seems surprised to see all of them there. Emily wonders if it was a bad idea for them all to come – will Spencer think that they're ganging up on her? But their friend just nods in greeting, eyes downcast, and waits for them to talk.

Emily glances at the others and then says, "We have some things we wanted to talk to you about."

When she doesn't go on, Spencer looks up. "So talk."

Seeing Spencer here, so listless and depressed, makes Emily's heart hurt. She wants to break her out of here, take her someplace nice and sunny, and help her heal. She wants to see that bright Spencer smile, hear her say something witty, watch her flick through a Chemistry textbook and complain that there's not enough detail in there. But instead she has to sit here and talk to her and pretend everything's normal, and that it isn't killing her to see her friend like this.

Emily nods to Aria. It's probably better that they start with the news about Wren and work their way up. Aria crosses her legs, fiddles with the hem of her skirt, and then starts talking, slowly, like she's worried she's going to startle Spencer and make her flee.

"Yesterday," she says, "my mom called from the hospital. She… there was an accident."

"Is she okay?" Spencer asks, her concern barely discernible above layers of depression.

"Yeah, she's fine. It's -" Aria seems to stumble over her words, unwilling to say them for fear of how Spencer will react. "It's Wren."

Spencer's eyes widen. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure of the details," Aria says. "I just know there was some kind of accident. A car crash, I guess. Wren… he's been in the hospital for a few days."

"Is he – what's wrong?"

Aria looks at the others, begging for help. She doesn't want to do this alone.

"We're not sure," Emily says. "It… it sounds pretty bad though. He got knocked out at the scene, and… he hasn't woken up yet."

Spencer looks down at her hands, processing this. "Okay," she says at last, so softly the others have to lean in to hear. "What else did you want to tell me?"

Nobody answers at first. Emily wonders why Spencer has so readily accepted this, why she isn't more concerned about Wren. Didn't she care about him? Hadn't they kissed before? Shouldn't she be shedding a couple of tears at least?

"I'm glad you told me," Spencer says, noticing their hesitation. "But it's not the only thing you wanted to tell me. I'd rather you just told me everything at once and then I can process it all together."

"Are you sure?" Hanna looks at Emily, clearly wondering how Spencer will take _that_ news.

Spencer nods. "What else did you have to tell me?"

Emily opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to figure out how to phrase it. She's quickly losing her nerve, speculating whether she'd have time to back out now and pretend she didn't have anything to tell her, when she feels Hanna's hand on her own. She looks up, into those caring, sympathetic eyes, and she finds the courage.

"Spencer, I was here the other day when Mona talked to you," Emily admits. "I was coming to visit you."

"But you didn't," Spencer says, more cautious than curious. "Did you hear what we were talking about?"

Emily exhales, stalling. "Yeah. I heard her ask you to join the team, and you said no."

"Right." Spencer leans back, folding her arms. "What happened then?"

"Long story short, she asked me the same thing," Emily says.

It doesn't take Spencer long to piece the rest together. "She asked you to join?" she asks, and Emily nods. "And you said yes?"

"Yeah."

"Huh." Spencer looks at Emily, her face impassive. Then she glances at her bed, maybe considering crawling into it and hiding under the covers. "That's interesting."

Although she'd played through a lot of scenarios in her mind, and pictured a hundred different ways Spencer could react, this hadn't even been on the list. "Interesting?" she echoes.

Spencer's gaze shifts from Emily to Hanna to Aria and back again. "I'm guessing since these two are here with you, and they're okay with this, you're still on our side," Spencer says. "If you'd joined because you really wanted to hurt us, you wouldn't have told us."

Emily stares at her. This is such a logical, dispassionate reaction. Aria looks at the floor, remembering her own reaction and feeling bad for it. Hanna is watching Spencer curiously, as if she's waiting for her to snap.

"So what else is there to tell me?" Spencer says briskly.

Aria and Hanna look at each other.

"I think that's it," Hanna says.

"Really?" Spencer raises an eyebrow. "So you don't have any bombshells to drop on me?"

"Actually," Emily says as Hanna shakes her head, "I have another one."

"What?" Aria whirls around to face her. "You have something _else_?"

Emily ducks her head. "I'm sorry. But I thought I should tell Spencer first."

She leaves out the fact that Hanna already knows.

"Spence, there's something you need to know," she says, cautiously meeting her friend's guarded eyes. "It's about Toby."

Spencer stiffens, but doesn't speak.

"I know you think you saw his body," Emily says, "but -"

She's interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Aria pulls her cell out of her pocket and sees who's calling.

"It's my mom," she says, jumping from her seat and heading for the door. "I should take this."

Once she's gone Emily turns back to Spencer. "Toby's alive."

She watches Spencer, who doesn't seem to react aside from a slight finger twitch. "Are you sure?"

Emily nods. "I'm sure. I've seen him."

Spencer looks away, out the window, and Emily wonders if this was too much, if her friend is slipping back into catatonia. But then Spencer looks back at her, their eyes meeting, and Emily gets the feeling that she's searching, trying to figure out if Emily is telling the truth. After a few moments of silence Emily senses something, like Spencer is holding something back, and she's about to ask what it is when Aria comes back in. All eyes shift to her.

"It's Wren," she says. "He's awake. And he wants to see us."

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**All right. Next chapter you're going to find out how Wren fits into all of this, and why he wants to talk to the girls. Any guesses?**


	31. The Connection

**Thanks for the reviews - it's nice to have the regulars as well as some new faces (well, names, but, you know). In answer to Cjsrey's question, Paige's main part in the story is over - however she will make an appearance towards the end. Actually, most of the characters who have been in this story so far will end up in the final scene. And let me tell you, it's going to be EPIC. (Okay, I may be overselling myself here, but I need to keep you guys interested somehow, right?)**

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After saying a hasty farewell to Spencer, the girls had driven straight over to the hospital. From the sounds of it, Wren really wanted to talk to them. They're not entirely sure why, but they know it has to be important. They're hovering in the hallway while Wren tries to convince the doctor that he's well enough to have visitors.

"What do you think he wants to tell us?" Hanna asks for the tenth time in as many minutes.

"I don't know," Aria mutters, watching the doctor turn and start walking to the door, "but we're about to find out."

The doctor comes over to them, closing the door behind him, and peers at them through his thick-rimmed glasses. There's a tense pause, and then he steps to the side and says, "You can see him now. Just don't be too long, and don't wear him out. He's been through a lot and he needs to recover."

"Of course, doctor," Emily says, leading the way inside.

Hanna closes the door behind them and they all stand at the foot of Wren's bed. Emily feels a pang of sympathy for him, and she hears Hanna suppress a gasp. Wren is lying in his bed, one leg elevated and in a cast. His right arm is in a cast too, and it looks like he has stitches in his left. A shallow cut runs all the way down one cheek, and he has more stitches above his eye. He has two black eyes and a bruise stretching down his neck. He looks absolutely miserable, and Emily, who's never been that close to him, feels a sudden desire to run and hug him just to get him to smile – if only that wouldn't put him in even more pain.

"Hi," Hanna says softly, and he turns his head to them.

"Girls," he says, trying to sit up. After a futile attempt he flops back down, wincing as his head hits the pillow, and says, "I'm glad you came. Take a seat."

There are only two chairs; Aria takes one, and Hanna takes the other. Emily automatically sits on the arm of Hanna's chair, ignoring the look that Aria gives them.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asks.

He lets out a little chuckle which turns into a coughing fit. When he's finished he says, "I've been better."

The girls look away, trying to think of something sympathetic or helpful to say. Wren seems to recognise what they're doing, because he smiles. Then it fades and he becomes all business.

"I assume you're wondering why I wanted to meet with you," he says, and they all nod.

"Not that we didn't want to see you," Hanna adds quickly.

Wren gives her a long look, one that makes Emily a little bit suspicious. They were closer than she'd thought; had something happened between them? But she pushes the thought from her mind and turns her attention to more pressing matters.

When he starts talking, he sounds rehearsed. Emily realizes that he must have been practicing what to say, to be sure that he said the right things and didn't miss anything out. She's had to do that before; sometimes it's better to plan out exactly what to say so you don't stumble over your words.

"This accident… it wasn't really an accident." He doesn't wait for the girls to react, just keeps going on with his story. "I know who's behind it, and I know why they did it."

"Who was it?" Emily asks, sensing that this is the part of the story where audience participation is needed.

He inclines his head slightly, almost like he's thanking her for asking the right question. "It was Lucas."

It takes a second for this to hit them. Emily's hand shoots out and grabs Hanna's, as much to comfort her as to steady herself.

"Lucas?" Hanna echoes weakly, her face drained of all its color. "Why would he do this?"

Wren turns his gaze onto Emily. "Do you remember what I told you when you were in the hospital?" he asks.

She frowns, trying to think back that far. A lot has happened since then and it's hard to keep track of it all.

Seeing that she doesn't remember, he turns his attention back to all of the girls. "A few years ago, I was in an accident," he says. "Or rather, a car crash. I won't say accident because someone was at fault. And that someone was me."

"What happened?" Aria asks. Of all of them she seems the least invested in his reaction, almost like she's taken a mental step back from all of this.

"I was going too fast," he says. "I lost control of the car and slammed into a telephone pole. I ended up with a concussion and a couple of broken bones, and spent a while in hospital."

Emily can feel Hanna's hand twitching, and shares her agitation. They just want to know how Lucas fits into all of this.

"I didn't actually hit anyone," he goes on. "But as I was spinning off the road, another car was coming towards me. They couldn't get out of the way in time, although they did try. They ended up losing control too, and crashing into a tree."

"Was everyone okay?" Hanna's voice is breathless. She's terrified to hear the answer, even though somewhere deep down she already knows.

"No." Wren looks at them, his eyes shining with guilt – and tears? "There were three people in the car. A man and a woman, and their child."

Suddenly Emily is sure she doesn't want to hear the end of the story. But she has to be strong for Hanna; Lucas used to be one of her closest friends, and she knows how much whatever this whole situation is must be upsetting her.

"The parents were fine," he says. "But the child… the little girl… she died."

At this point he stops talking, as if he's too ashamed to continue. But he takes a deep breath and finishes his tragic tale. "That girl was Lucas' sister. I did everything I could for the family, and they blamed it on the bad road. Her parents never tried to press any charges; they just moved on with their lives. But Lucas… he blamed me for it. I had taken away his baby sister, and I didn't get punished for it."

"So what happened then?" Aria inquires.

"At first he didn't know who was involved," Wren says. "He knew what had happened, but it took him a while to put the pieces together and figure out it was me. And when he did…"

Wren stops talking and looks around at all the girls, who are in varying states of agitation. The tension in the room makes Emily feel sick. Something big is about to happen, she knows that. What could Wren have to reveal?

Then he says something that none of them were expecting, not even Emily.

"And then when he did figure it out… that's when he joined the A-Team."

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**Not what you were expecting, was it?**


	32. The Denial

**This chapter's shoutout is to RabbitHole26 - thanks for the review, and the guess about what Wren knows. I love when people get involved in my story, so everyone feel free to throw out guesses/comments/criticisms, whatever.**

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"No." Hanna stands up and starts backing away, as if the further away she gets from Wren, the cloudier the truth will be. Maybe she thinks that if she can get far enough away from him, the truth will change. Lucas will be innocent, Wren will be mistaken, and things will be fine. "I know he's been acting weird, but Lucas wouldn't do something like this."

Aria and Emily exchange a glance, and then Aria dips her head slightly. She knows Emily will be better able to take care of this.

"Hanna -" Emily says, going over to stand near her.

"No," Hanna says again, but this time her voice is more pleading. "Please, no. Not Lucas."

Emily wants to lie to her. She would give anything to be able to tell Hanna that Wren is wrong, that Lucas isn't behind this. She wants to be able to reassure her that Lucas isn't on the A-Team, that he would never hurt her, that things are going to be okay. But she knows that lies like that will only hurt her more in the long run.

"Hanna, it's true," Emily says, shooting a glance at Wren, who looks apologetic. "I -"

She stops talking, aware that Wren doesn't know she's on the A-Team. She doesn't want him to know. It's not that she doesn't trust him, exactly, but more that she doesn't know him. And she doesn't want to get any more people involved in this.

"I know that Lucas is on the team," Emily says. "I've known for a while. But it sounds like he wasn't doing it to hurt you. That has to mean something, right?"

Hanna laughs coldly. "Yeah, it means he didn't care about me one way or the other. He didn't hate me enough to actually hurt me, but he didn't love me enough to protect me. I guess I'm just collateral damage, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Hanna," Wren says, and Emily looks at him, trying to figure out if he's apologising for telling her like this or for it being the truth. "I thought I should tell you... I know -A has been after you girls too, and I thought maybe if you knew more..."

"I can't…" Hanna starts chewing her thumbnail, a nervous habit, and then she throws her hands up in the air. "I can't do this. It's too much."

She looks at Wren, and then at Aria, and then lets her gaze rest on Emily.

"I'm sorry," she says. She stays motionless for a moment more and then she dashes out the door, sprinting down the hallway until she's out of sight.

Emily turns to Aria, eyes wide.

"I didn't mean -" Wren says, looking upset.

"It's okay," Aria says, barely glancing at him. She turns her attention back to Emily. "You go."

"What?"

"Go after Hanna." Aria gestures to the door.

Emily blinks. "Why me?"

Aria gives her a look that's uncomfortably reminiscent of Alison. "I'm not blind, Em," she says. "Just go."

Making a mental note to talk to her about this later, Emily quickly says goodbye to Wren and takes off after Hanna. She finds her just around the corner, leaning against the wall with one hand over her mouth as she tries to stop herself from crying. Emily's heart breaks at the sight of her.

"Hey," she says gently, resting a tentative hand on her shoulder.

Hanna shrugs it off and steps away. "You knew about this?"

"I'm sorry," Emily says. "I should have told you."

Hanna sniffles, and Emily pulls a tissue out of her pocket and hands it to her. Once the worst of her crying has stopped, Hanna chucks the tissue in the trash and says, "It's not even you I'm mad at. I get why you didn't tell me. I just… Lucas. He didn't think twice about hurting me. He didn't even _care_."

The tears start again, and Emily wraps her arms around Hanna, holding her close and murmuring soothing nonsense to her. They stay like that for a while, eventually sinking down to the floor where they sit, leaning against the wall, holding onto each other for all they're worth. Emily reflects that this is a complete role-reversal; she's gone from being comforted to doing the comforting. She's okay with that.

"You feeling better?" Emily asks after Hanna stops crying again.

Hanna nods, not looking up from where she's snuggled into Emily's shoulder. Emily wouldn't mind staying like this forever, but Aria turns around the corner at that point. She doesn't seem surprised to see them like that, but her expression softens as she sees how distraught Hanna is.

"How you doing, Han?" she asks, crouching down beside her.

With obvious reluctance Hanna lifts her head up and meets Aria's eyes, wiping some tears away on her sleeve. "I'm okay," she mumbles.

Aria sits down on the other side of Hanna, who sits there quietly while they try to comfort her. They stay there long after visiting hours have ended, long after the flow of nurses has slowed, long after the other visitors have gone. They sit there for as long as Hanna needs, because that's what friends do.

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**Please keep the reviews coming. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible. :)**


	33. The Apology

**101 reviews! You have no idea how much that means to me. You guys are awesome. :)**

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For the next few days, things almost go back to normal. Aria sits with them at lunch again, there are no more messages from –A, and Emily feels like she can breathe again. She and Hanna continue to see each other, but it's nothing serious. Emily likes this; it's casual, flirtatious, and fun. She hasn't forgotten about Paige, but she's learning to cope with the residual feelings. With Hanna she feels safe; she knows her so well, and she knows that Hanna won't hurt her. She also knows with almost one hundred percent certainty that Hanna is _not_ on the A-Team.

Aria has caught onto their almost-relationship, but she doesn't bring it up or seem bothered by it at all. Her parents talk to her and Mike about their relationship, and her mother is planning on moving back in on a temporary basis, yet again, to see if they can work things out. Aria doesn't say anything, but Emily knows she's cautiously optimistic about it.

There are some things they stop talking about. After the discovery that Lucas is part of the A-Team, they don't mention him again. In fact they stop mentioning the team at all, and as long as they don't get any messages Emily is happy with that. They stop asking her about her missions or her involvement, because they know – or they assume – that she'll tell them if anything comes up.

The other thing nobody talks much about is Spencer. She's still in Radley, and it doesn't look like she's leaving anytime soon. The girls are all worried about her, but there's not much they can do. They take turns visiting her, but they don't talk about the visits with each other. Emily's gone to see her twice, and she can feel Spencer slipping away again. She's less responsive, more detached, and it makes Emily feel helpless.

But aside from that, things are good. They're all still a little on edge, but they allow themselves to relax a bit when they're together. After all the stress and tension of the past couple of months, it's good to be able to let their guards down, even if it's only a little. Wren seems to be getting better; Hanna goes to visit him one day, and she reports back with the news that he's due to be released soon, barring complications.

That night Emily goes over to Hanna's house so they can watch movies and chill out. They'd invited Aria, but her mother was coming over and they were having their first family dinner in months, so she wanted to be there for that. Secretly Emily was glad it was just the two of them. She and Aria were still searching their way back to a solid friendship, and she knew it would take a while. In the meantime she was happy being with Hanna. She wasn't sure what they had yet, but she was looking forward to finding out.

She's just put The Notebook into the DVD player and is settling down next to Hanna on the floor when there's a knock at the door. When Hanna doesn't move, Emily nudges her.

"Your mom's not home, remember?"

Hanna blinks at her.

"That means you have to get the door," Emily says as the knocks become louder and more insistent. When Hanna still doesn't move, she rolls her eyes and stands up. "Fine, I'll get it. I practically live here anyway."

"Thanks, Em," Hanna says, using that flirty tone of voice that she knows makes Emily blush, and turns her attention back to the screen, scooping a handful of candy into her mouth.

Emily opens the door and is rendered speechless by who's standing there.

"Who is it?" Hanna calls. "Em?"

Emily swallows. "What do you want?" she asks softly.

"Aren't you at least going to invite me in?" Lucas says, pulling off his jacket and wringing it out. "It's raining out here, you know."

"I -" Emily glances back to the living room. "I don't think you should be here. Hanna -"

"I need to talk to her," he says urgently. "Please. It's really important."

She's saved from having to make a decision by the appearance of Hanna at her side. The blonde-haired girl stares wide-eyed at Lucas, and seems to consider slamming the door in his face. But then she just steps back, silently inviting him in.

He steps through the door, not even bothering to wipe his feet, and makes his way to the kitchen. Hanna and Emily follow slowly, then sit down across from him and wait for him to speak.

"You have no reason to trust me," he begins, looking at Hanna. She refuses to look directly at him, focussing her gaze at a point just behind his shoulder. "And even less of a reason to help me. But that's what I'm asking for. Please, Hanna. I need help."

She regards him with a removed sort of curiosity. "What do you want, Lucas?"

He seems surprised that she didn't immediately refuse him, and unwilling to lose his chance he quickly goes on. "I'm sorry about all of this. I didn't -"

She cuts him off, turning her cold gaze onto him. "I don't want an apology," she snaps. "I don't even want an explanation. I just want you out of my life."

"Hanna," Emily cautions, "just hear him out. You might regret it if you don't."

"Fine." Hanna folds her arms and looks away again. "Go on. But don't expect my forgiveness."

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**Uh oh. What do you think he wants?**


	34. The Runaway

**I'm getting close to the end of the story; there'll be around fifty chapters, and the last few are going to be pretty crazy. I'm really excited that I'll get to share them with you soon.**

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"I didn't want you to be involved in this," he says. "You have to believe me. I just wanted to get revenge. I realise now that that was wrong. I went to visit Wren in the hospital, and he told me that you guys talked to him. You know what I… what I did. And you know why."

"I don't get why you joined the A-Team though," Emily interjects. "Revenge I understand. But how was Wren connected to us? Why did you have to hurt us to hurt him?"

Lucas turns his eyes on her for a second before flicking his gaze back to Hanna; his apology is for her, and it's her forgiveness he needs. "I didn't know what else to do," he says, sounding desperate. "I didn't know how to get revenge like that. But Mona… she made me an offer. She told me that if I helped her, she'd help me get back at him. I didn't know what she wanted me to do, so I agreed. But then she… she made me hurt you. All of you. I wanted out, but… I couldn't, not until I'd done what I came for."

"Wren," Emily says. "So you got back at him. Does that mean you're out now?"

Lucas finally turns his attention to her, and she's startled by the intensity of the fear in his eyes. "I want to be," he says. "I didn't want it to go this far. Wren almost _died_. I don't want to be a murderer. I just… I wanted him to hurt, like we had to."

"That doesn't justify it, Lucas," Hanna spits out. It's the first time she's spoken in a while, and the other two turn to her, surprised. "Yeah, you were hurting, but that doesn't give you the right to go around hurting others. We never did anything to you."

Emily glances at Hanna. Does she really believe that? They'd never gone out of their way to be spiteful to him, but they hadn't stopped Alison or Mona from bullying him. But he doesn't argue the point.

"I'm sorry, Hanna," he says, hanging his head. "I didn't want to hurt any of you. And it needs to stop, now."

The two share a long look. Emily almost excuses herself, because she feels like she's intruding on some kind of personal moment. But then Hanna looks away and sighs.

"What do you need from me?" she asks.

"I can't stay here." Lucas' eyes dart to the window, as if he's worried somebody's watching him. "I need to get out. I need to leave Rosewood. All I need from you is a ride to the bus stop and some money for a bus. Then I'll be out of your way."

"Why can't you just drive yourself to the bus stop?" she asks.

"I don't have a car," he reminds her. "And I don't have enough time to go home and grab any cash. Now that Wren's awake he might – he knows I was behind it. He might go to the police. I can't risk it. I have to get out _now_."

Hanna surveys him, and if Emily didn't know her better she would have missed the hidden pain in her eyes. Hanna grabs her purse.

"All right. Let's go."

"Hanna," Emily says, with a glance at Lucas, "are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore," Hanna says. "But this is what I'm doing, so deal with it."

"Do you want me to come?" Emily is already halfway out of her chair.

"No." Hanna rests her hand on Emily's shoulder, gently pushing her back down. "I'll be okay.

"Hanna," she says again, more firmly. "Aren't you worried? He could hurt you. He's part of the A-Team, after all."

Her friend raises her eyebrows, and the message is clear: _So are you_.

Emily concedes the point. "Fine. I'll wait here. Be back soon, okay?"

"Sure." Hanna leads the way out of the kitchen, Lucas trailing behind like a puppy who just got in trouble for digging up a garden bed. "Call Aria and see if she can come over now. Her dinner should be finished."

"Of course," Emily says, reaching for her phone.

Lucas doesn't look back or say any goodbyes. As Emily dials Aria's number, she can hear the front door open and Hanna say, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this so you'll get out of my life. Are we clear?"

Then the door closes, and they're gone.

After she calls Aria, Emily lies down on the couch and stares at the ceiling. Things had been going well, but maybe it was just the calm before the storm. If only Spencer was out of Radley, and Emily wasn't on the A-Team, things would be great. Emily had friends she loved, including one who was becoming more than a friend. She had a family who supported her. She had everything she needed… and she'd almost thrown it all away over Paige, who hadn't cared about her at all.

She's been trying to avoid thinking about Paige, and it's mostly been working. But now, alone in the house and with nothing else to do, she finds her mind drifting back there. That fight had been awful, but it had led to something good. It had led to Hanna, and that almost made it worth it. But Emily still couldn't shake the feelings of insecurity it had left her with. Paige had left a hole in her heart and a knife in her back, and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to move on from that.

She's interrupted from her dark thoughts by yet another knock on the door. This time she doesn't need to answer it because it's Aria, who lets herself in.

"Hey," Aria says, tossing her bag down on the floor beside the couch. She takes in the sight of Emily sprawled there, and raises an eyebrow, cautious. "Everything okay?"

Emily sits up, making room for Aria on the couch. "Not really," she says, and goes on to explain everything that happened.

"Wow," says Aria once she's finished. "Poor Hanna."

Emily nods sympathetically. "We should do something for her," she says.

"Yeah." Aria reaches for the phone. "You get the ice cream, I'll get the pizza."

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_"And you thought the best way to keep me safe was by _lying _to me?"_

**Next chapter, 'The Truth', somebody is going to reveal something big. Any guesses as to what it might be?**


	35. The Truth

**Thanks for the reviews, and all the guesses. Shoutout to all my regulars - lu-orsolon, dmpanda5, RabbitHole26, Santana4ever -and a special shoutout to vamp1001, who I think is a first-time reviewer. Keep up the reviews, and I'll keep updating as fast as I can.**

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"You guys are good friends," Hanna says an hour later as they're all finishing off the last of the pizza.

"We know," Emily says, handing her a container of ice cream.

"Is that butterscotch?" Hanna asks, and beams when Emily nods. "You're the best."

There's silence for a few minutes as they all dig into their own ice cream – Emily's chocolate chip and Aria's strawberry swirl – and then Aria stabs the spoon into the soft dessert, turns to Emily, and says something nobody was expecting.

"I'm really sorry about everything."

Emily takes another mouthful of ice cream, partly because she's hungry and partly because she's stalling. She swallows and says, "What do you mean?"

"I shouldn't have run off like that when you told me about being on the A-Team," she says, sounding sincere. "I should have given you a chance to explain. And most of all I should have just trusted you."

"I get why you didn't." Emily puts the container on the floor and looks at her friend. "In your position I probably would have done the same. But you trust me now, right?"

Aria nods. "Of course, Em. I know you were only doing what you thought was right. We'll be able to figure this out together. –A doesn't stand a chance against us."

"Yeah," Hanna adds, "and now that Lucas is out of the picture, that's one less A-Team member for us to deal with, right?"

"Exactly." Aria stretches luxuriously, seeming to relish the thought of having fewer members to watch out for. "It's just Mona and Paige, and you and Toby are our guys on the inside. So it's pretty even now."

Emily bites her lip and says nothing. She'd told Aria about Toby, but she hadn't mentioned Jason yet. They've only just become close again, and she doesn't want to lose that. But more than that, she doesn't want to do anything that could put Aria in danger – and she would definitely be in danger if she knew. She may already be in danger, since she knows almost everything Emily does. For a second she entertains the possibility that Mona knows she's told the others, but she pushes the thought away. It's too horrible to even consider.

"Em?" Hanna asks. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Aria chimes in, "you've been pretty quiet. What's going on?"

"I -" She looks from one to the other, torn. This is the one secret she's kept, and she's not sure she should let it go.

"Do you know something we don't?" Hanna frowns, trying to figure her out.

"You can tell us anything," Aria says. They seem to have this tag-team approach down.

Her hands suddenly become very interesting, and she starts examining them. Anything to avoid the curious gazes of her friends.

"Em." Hanna's voice is firmer now. She knows something's up. "What's going on? You can tell us."

She drags her gaze away from her hands. "There's more," she says.

Aria stiffens, on alert at once. "What do you mean?"

"There's another member of the A-Team," Emily confides. "Someone you don't know about."

"Who is it?" She can hear the anxiety in Aria's voice, masking a hint of irritation.

She takes a deep breath. Then she spits it out, subconsciously hoping that if she does it quick it will hurt less. "Jason. It's Jason."

From the tense silence, Emily knows that Aria is fighting the temptation to storm out again. The smaller girl keeps clenching and unclenching her first, and she opens her mouth a few times before any words come out. "Are you – are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Emily says, and sees pain flash across Aria's face. "I'm sorry, Aria. I saw him at the first meeting. He's definitely part of the A-Team."

Aria looks away, pressing her fist against her mouth as if she's trying not to scream.

"Is that all now?" Hanna asks, a touch snappy.

"Yes," Emily says. "I swear those are the only members, as far as I know anyway. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want you to -"

She trails off, not wanting to exacerbate the situation. Aria turns tear-filled eyes on her.

"Do what?" she asks. "Something stupid?"

Emily ducks her head. "I just wanted to keep you safe," she says, well aware that it's not an answer.

True to form, Aria doesn't accept it. "And you thought the best way to keep me safe was by _lying_ to me?"

The harshness of her words makes Emily wince, but she knows she deserves it. She really should know better than to keep secrets by now. She's not sure how many times she can apologise before people stop listening, but she tries again. "I'm sorry, Aria. I really am. I've made a complete mess of things and I wish I could just go back and fix it all."

Aria sighs, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. "I know, Em," she says at last, wiping away the tears that never quite started falling. "I know that this whole situation is… chaotic. We're all just trying to get through it."

"So we're okay?" Emily asks, barely daring to hope.

Aria looks at her for a long moment, and then she smiles. "Yeah. I guess we are."

Emily breathes a sigh of relief, but Aria's smile fades and the mood becomes serious again.

"This is so crazy though," she says. "Toby, Paige, Jason. Is there anyone whose significant other _isn't_ part of the A-Team?"

Hanna looks at Emily and suppresses a giggle. Aria notices and raises an eyebrow. "What is _with_ you two anyway?"

Emily suggestively waggles her eyebrows at Hanna, who starts laughing, and Aria seems to take that as confirmation of a theory she's already decided on. She doesn't raise the issue again.

As Emily gets up to start throwing the pizza boxes in the trash, her phone goes off. Aria tosses it to her and she reads the message with a sinking feeling.

"It's from Mona," she says, looking at her friends. "She wants me to meet her."

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**So either I'm getting predictable, or you guys are really good at guessing!**


	36. The Task

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Sometimes Emily was glad to have such protective friends. Tonight was not one of those nights. She'd had to argue with them for fifteen minutes before they'd reluctantly agreed to let her go by herself. As she sits in her car at the designated meeting area, she starts to wish that she hadn't turned them down. Both Aria and Hanna had offered to accompany her – discreetly of course, since they didn't want Mona knowing that they knew – so they could keep an eye on things, but Emily hadn't wanted to put them in danger.

She looks around. This is a fairly public place – bright streetlights, a diner on the corner with some people sitting outside. If Mona wanted to hurt her, she wouldn't do it in such an open place. Would she? She shivers, trying to suppress the anxiety that's building up inside her. What she wouldn't give to have Hanna's hand in hers, so she could feel that electricity, that energy that thrummed through her when they were together.

In preparation for whatever's to come, she closes her eyes and allows herself to relax for a few minutes. She relives that first kiss with Hanna, and then all the moments after. Each memory leaves her feeling warm, and even though Hanna's not here she's only a phone call or a text message away. That will have to be enough for her.

Emily is so lost in her thoughts that when someone knocks softly on the car window she jumps. Her limbs jerk in shock and she ends up whacking her arm on the steering wheel. Rubbing it, she gets out of the car and follows Mona to a bench. To her surprise, Mona is wearing her black A-Team hoodie. It's a bold move, and it makes Emily uneasy.

"Having a good night?" Mona questions.

Emily realizes that the dreamy, Hanna-inspired smile hasn't quite faded yet, so she quickly forces it from her face. She doesn't want Mona knowing about this; like she even needs another thing to use against them.

"Mona -" she starts.

"I see," Mona interrupts, discerning from her tone of voice that Emily, as usual, isn't in the mood for games. "Straight to business then."

"Of course it's straight to business," Emily says, not bothering to hide the disdain in her voice. "You and I aren't friends, Mona. We don't talk aside from when we need to. And even then we make it quick. Understood?"

Normally Mona would make some kind of snarky comment about patience or some fake-sympathetic aside, but tonight she lets it slide. "You have a new mission," she says without preamble. "Since you performed the last one so well, this one will be more difficult."

_Lucky me_, Emily thinks, but she knows better than to say it aloud.

"Normally I wouldn't ask something so big of someone so new, but I'm a little desperate," she goes on, giving Emily a measured look. "I haven't been able to contact Lucas in a while. Do you know where he might be?"

Emily freezes, automatically opting for silence as her best defence.

"I thought as much," Mona says, and Emily has the horrible feeling that she knows she was a part of it. "I would have liked for you to work in tandem with someone on this project, but that doesn't seem like an option."

Emily stays silent. As long as she doesn't say anything incriminating, she may be able to get out of this unscathed. She just might make it back to Hanna in one piece.

"I did ask Paige, but she seemed… reluctant to work with you," Mona says, giving Emily a look of feigned sympathy. "Did you two have a fight?"

"It's none of your business, Mona," Emily says, wondering how much Paige told her.

Mona shrugs. "I guess not," she says airily. "So, your mission will be solo, if you can handle that. Jason has been dating Aria, as I'm sure you're aware."

Emily nods warily. Where is this going?

"It's no longer useful to us to have him in that position," she explains. "We need a way to… extricate him, without suspicion."

Emily stares at her. "You want me to find a way to break Aria and Jason up?"

"In layman's terms, yes." Mona is giving her a searching look, as if she's testing her for weakness or disloyalty. "Preferably it would involve Aria breaking up with him, so that he'll be able to leave without her questioning it."

"Uh huh." She's not sure what else to say.

"The sooner the better," Mona adds. "In fact, I've made sure he's free tonight, so if you can come up with a plan in time, we could be finished by tomorrow."

When Emily doesn't respond, Mona leans forward, elbows on her knees, and looks at the ground. Then she shoots a sly sideways glance at her. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No." Emily's response is too quick, and she draws in a sharp breath. Has she given herself away?

But Mona doesn't question it. She seems distracted, like this is just a pit stop on the way to something much more important. If Emily weren't so scared, she'd almost be offended.

"Great." Mona stands abruptly. "Let me know when it's finished."

Before Emily can say another word, something along the lines of 'Hey, would you quit walking off already', Mona has disappeared around the corner. She lets out a sigh. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath, but after the fallout following her first mission she'd been apprehensive about being given a new one. But this one might work to her advantage.

As she gets into her car and drives away, checking the backseat and then the rear-view mirror just to make sure she's alone and not being followed, she feels the start of a plan arranging itself in her mind. By the time she pulls up outside Hanna's house the plan is – well, if not cemented, it's at least starting to set. And she's running out of time, so it will have to do.

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**What do you think her plan will be?**


	37. The Plan

**Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. I get so excited when I see people are reading/liking my story. Enjoy the next chapter. :)**

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"Have I mentioned that I don't like this plan?" Aria says, folding her arms.

"I'm not so comfortable with the idea either," Hanna adds, looking a little bit distressed.

"Do you have a better idea?" Emily presses, doing her best to sound simultaneously firm and sympathetic.

Aria sighs and reaches for her cell. "Fine. Let's just do this."

"Wait." Emily grabs Aria's hand. "Not yet. We need to make this look unconnected. If they know I talked to you about this, we're in trouble. So wait until I go, then wait a while before you call him. He'll call me about it, so it'll look like I found out from him. If we can pull this off, you'll be free from Jason and maybe Mona will trust me more."

"And if it doesn't work?" Hanna asks.

Nobody has an answer for her.

"We can't think about that," Emily says at last. "Let's just do this and hope for the best."

She reaches for the door, knowing that once she walks out she'll have set in motion a plan that could have serious consequences for all of them.

"I'll see you guys soon, I hope," she says.

"Emily -" Hanna says, reaching for her.

She turns back, and Aria tactfully chooses that moment to go back to the kitchen, leaving Emily and Hanna alone to share a brief but passionate kiss. Emily pulls away, knowing if she stays a moment longer she'll surrender entirely to passion and never leave.

"Be careful," Hanna whispers.

If Emily had known what was to come, she might have said those words back to her. But now she just nods and steps outside, closing the door behind her. She wanders aimlessly for a while; there's nowhere she needs to be yet, and there's nowhere she wants to be besides in Hanna's arms. For now she just has to be patient and wait for the call from Jason. It occurs to her that she shouldn't be wandering alone after dark, especially in Rosewood. You never know what kind of danger's hanging just around the corner. But she doesn't care. She isn't even safe in her own house, so why should she worry about what's lurking out there in the dark?

She ends up at a playground, one she and her parents used to go to when she was younger. She'd been terrified of heights, but her father had mastered the art of pushing her just high enough to be fun but not high enough to get scared. She missed those days, when if she was upset she could go running into her mother's arms or collapse into her father's embrace and know that everything was going to be okay. She's aware now that things probably aren't going to be okay.

The sound of her phone ringing reminds her just how bad things are. "Hello?" she says tentatively, even though she knows who it is.

"Aria called," Jason says, not even bothering to greet her. "She wants to meet me for a late dinner."

"Right. And you're thinking tonight is the perfect time for me to make sure she breaks it off with you?"

She can picture him nodding as he says, "Yeah. We're meeting at this little diner a couple of blocks from her house. Denny's or something like that. You know it?"

"Yeah. I know the place."

"Great," he says. "So can I assume I'll be seeing you there?"

"You can," she says. "And this is how it's going to go down…"

After she finishes explaining he's silent for so long she thinks he hung up. But then, to her surprise, he laughs.

"It's so simple!" he exclaims. "It'll get her to break it off with me, _and_ stop talking to you. Mona will be happy about that."

"Let's hope so," Emily says nervously.

"So I'll be getting there in about fifteen minutes," he says. "Aria should be a little later. I'll see you there?"

"Yeah." She hangs up at the same time as a text message comes through.

**Wren's okay. Out of hospital and heading home. Thought you'd need some good news. Good luck tonight.**

She smiles, partly because of the good news and partly because it's a message from Hanna. She takes a second to reply to it before she gets to her feet and starts walking towards the diner. She knows where it is; since it's close to Aria's house the girls had often gone there during night-time study sessions. She reaches it with ten minutes to spare, so she goes inside and sits down.

It's crowded tonight. A murmuring fills the room, the sound of happy people catching up and hanging out. Apparently nobody else is here on a covert double agent mission. She'd never been great in crowds, and tonight is worse than usual. The sounds wash over her, wearing her away like waves on sand until she wishes there was some kind of mute button for the room.

To give herself something to do she orders a milkshake, and while she waits for that she fiddles with the napkin. By the time the waitress delivers her a tall glass of vanilla-caramel goodness, the napkin is in tatters. The waitress gives her a strange look, but Emily just smiles until she goes away.

Then she sips her milkshake, and she waits for the moment she knows she's going to have to face. Sure enough, almost exactly as she finishes her beverage, the front door of the diner opens and in steps Jason. He spots her immediately even through the crowd and comes over to her.

"Is she here yet?" he asks.

She shakes her head and he visibly relaxes. Emily hopes she's not expected to fill the intervening silence with awkward smalltalk, so it's almost with relief that she sees Aria enter the diner.

"She's here now," Emily says, quickly turning her focus back to Jason. "Don't look."

He looks into Emily's eyes like she's the only girl in the world, and she clenches her fist to stop from flinching. It's just an act. They're both pretending. She just needs to act like she's into him, for just long enough for Aria to see and catch on. She runs her hand up his thigh, leaning into him. He starts playing with her hair; she wants to slap him, but the mission is more important. She forces herself to keep looking at him, but out of the corner of her eyes she sees Aria staring at them.

If they're going to do this, she has to make it convincing. Jason can't know she's playing him. So she leans closer to him, and he leans into her, and then they're kissing.

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**Good guess, guest! You were right. I love how you're all speculating and wondering about what's going to happen. It makes it so much more fun to write.**


	38. The Fallout

**I don't know why, but this chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope it's as enjoyable to read. Just be warned - something big happens at the end of this chapter, and you may very well hate me for it. Read on if you dare...**

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Emily keeps it going for as long as she possibly can, but at last she pulls away and resists the urge to wipe her mouth on her sleeve. As far as kisses go, that was definitely one of the worst. Maybe it was just the situation, the fact that neither of them was attracted to each other, but she suspects he might just be pretty bad at it.

"Here comes the fallout," Jason whispers as Aria storms over to them.

Emily tenses. They hadn't rehearsed this; they'd planned it, but adlibbing seemed the best course of action. She has to pretend that she's the kind of person who would make out with her friend's boyfriend. She's not sure whether she's more disturbed by the fact that she just made out with someone her friend is dating or that she just kissed a guy.

"What the hell is this?" Aria demands, coming to a stop in front of them and glaring at them.

"Aria!" Emily says, pretending to be surprised. "I – what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see my _boyfriend_," she says with a pointed glare at Jason. "Who, by the way, is _my_ boyfriend, not yours."

"I didn't expect you to -"

"What, find out?" Aria snaps. "How long has this been going on for?"

"Aria, just chill," Jason says unhelpfully. "You know I care about you. Emily was just -"

"What?" Emily interrupts. "Was I just a pit stop along the way?"

He stares at her, at a loss for words. "No, I didn't mean that. I just – I love Aria."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Aria says, but there's a touch of hesitation in her voice. Does she actually think he's telling the truth? In light of Jason's allegiance Aria had seemed almost eager to end the relationship, and this was the best way to do it for all of them… but was she having second thoughts?

"Aria, I'm sorry," Emily says. "I didn't mean for you to find out like this -"

"I don't care, Emily." There's more anger in her voice than Aria could fake, and Emily recognises that this is cathartic for her. Apparently they hadn't quite smoothed things over yet, but maybe after this Aria would be able to forgive her and move on. "Get out."

"What?" Emily's eyes widen as she pretends to be hurt.

"You heard me." Aria's eyes are cold, and Emily has to search hard to find the warmth in them that proves she's still just playing her part. "Get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you again."

"Aria -"

To her surprise Aria grabs her arm and yanks her to her feet, before pushing her away none too gently. "I said _get out_, Emily. I mean it."

She shoots a look at Jason, who gives her a quick smile behind Aria's back. Then, without a word or a backward glance, she flees. She can hear Aria yelling even after she's hit the street and the door's closed behind her. But she keeps walking, and after a couple of blocks it's dead silent.

She finds a bench and sits down, going over everything that just happened. That's what her plan had been, and it seemed to work reasonably well. Aria was definitely going to break up with Jason, like Mona wanted. Jason would report back that Aria and Emily weren't friends anymore, which would mean Emily would be even deeper into the A-Team – all the better to infiltrate it.

But there had been real pain behind Aria's words, and she knew she wasn't quite forgiven yet. She hoped that she'd get there someday. She'd already lost Paige; she couldn't stand to lose another friend. It was bad enough that they could hardly talk to Spencer. If their group got any more splintered, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it. Once all this is over, she's going to do whatever she can to make it up to the others. She wants things to go back to how they were before, back when Ali was alive even. They were happy then, mostly, and at least they weren't tormented by –A. Things had been simpler.

Then again, she doesn't want to lose the closeness they've developed. So maybe she shouldn't wish they could go back. Maybe she should focus on going forward, on exploring her relationship with Hanna, on helping Spencer get better, on restoring her friendship with Aria. Yes, forward is definitely the way to go.

She stands up and starts walking. Their arranged meeting place was Hanna's: neutral territory, so if anyone was watching Aria or Emily they wouldn't be suspicious. Unless of course whoever was following them communicated with each other and figured out they were both there. But she tries not to think about that.

When she gets there, she doesn't realize at first that something is wrong. The front door's unlocked, but there's not anything unusual about that. She goes inside and is surprised not to see Hanna in the kitchen or the living room, but she's not unsettled yet. It's not until she finds the bedroom empty that she starts to realize that something's not right.

She comes back downstairs and looks around more closely. There's a lamp knocked over, and the window's slightly open, the curtains rippling in the cool night breeze.

"Hanna?" she calls, not really expecting an answer. "Hanna, are you here?"

The wind picks up, and she goes over to close the window. On her way she stops, watching as a piece of paper flutters in the breeze. Her heart in her throat, she picks it up. Her fingers tremble as she reads the words written there, in something that looks suspiciously like blood. The words hit her like a gunshot and she lets out a strangled cry, letting the paper fall to the floor. She slumps against the counter, unable to believe what she's just read. It can't be true. It can't.

**You take my trust, I take your girlfriend. Guess who's not getting either of them back? –A**

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**BAM.**

**Stay tuned to find out what happens.**


	39. The Call

**As always, thanks for the reviews. I've just about finished writing this story now - there'll be fifty chapters, and if you thought the rest of this story has been intense, wait until you read the last few.**

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"That went well," Aria says as she walks through the door, apparently in a good mood despite – or perhaps because of – her breakup with Jason.

From her position on the kitchen floor, Emily hears the door close and her friend start to walk towards her, but she can't even raise her head. She's still staring at that note, numb, too shocked to even speak.

"Em?" Aria stops a few feet away. "Are you okay?"

When Emily doesn't reply Aria crouches down, following her gaze until it lands on the note. She picks it up and quickly reads it, her eyes growing wide with horror. Once she's finished she crumples it in her hand and tosses it away, fighting back tears. She slides down next to Emily and they both stare at the crumpled note in silence.

"So Mona knows about you and Hanna?" Aria asks. "And that you're still on our side?"

Still unable to speak, Emily nods.

"Well, shit."

Emily is still beyond words, so she just keeps staring at the note.

"Do you think she's okay?" Aria doesn't expect an answer, and Emily doesn't offer one. A few more beats of silence pass before she says, "Should we call her?"

"I already tried," Emily replies softly, finding her voice.

Aria lets this sink in, and then she seems seized by sudden fury. She gets to her feet and starts pacing. "We can't just sit here," she says. "We need to do _something_."

Emily's brain is working on a different level. She can't process this, she can't think about anything logical or practical. All she can do is sit there and silently scream at herself for letting Hanna out of her sight, for getting her involved at all. If Emily hadn't confided in her friends, they would have been safe. If she'd stayed away from them, Mona wouldn't have needed to target them. But because Emily couldn't keep a secret, because her cover had been blown, someone she loved was going to get hurt.

Suddenly she understands where Aria's fury comes from. She stands up, her hands curling into fists and her heartbeat steadying as she decides to act.

"What can we do?"

"We could try calling her again," Aria says, still pacing. "Or, since this is the last place we know she was, we could look for clues."

"We could call the police," Emily muses. "Although I don't know what we'd tell them."

"Let's try Hanna first." Aria stops pacing and dials the number while Emily leans against the counter, chewing her thumbnail. Then it hits her.

"Toby!" she exclaims.

Aria, having got no answer, hangs up and turns to her. "What?"

"Toby," Emily repeats, her voice rising in pitch to match her excitement. "Maybe he knows where they would have taken Hanna."

She doesn't wait for Aria to agree; she's already pulling her phone from her pocket.

"Hello?"

"Toby," Emily says in relief. She wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't answered. For a split second she entertains the idea that it was Toby who took Hanna, but she dismisses this immediately. He wouldn't do that. "Do you know what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

She could have screamed in frustration. "You don't know who took Hanna?"

"Hanna's missing?" There's genuine surprise in his voice.

"Yeah. –A took her."

He doesn't respond right away, and she knows he's weighing the possibilities. "Do you know who it was?" he asks. "If it wasn't you, or me…"

"It wasn't Lucas either," Emily says. "He's long gone. And Jason was busy – he wouldn't have had time."

"And Paige is on another assignment tonight. So it was Mona," Toby concludes. "That's good."

"Good? Nothing about this situation is good."

"Emily," he says gently, knowing he's upset her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean good. I just meant that if it was Mona, I think I know where she took her."

Her heart leaps and Aria, seeing her expression, mouths _Any luck?_

She nods to Aria, then turns her attention back to the phone. "Where?"

"I can take you there," he offers.

"I'm not sure we have time -"

"Answer the door," he says, a second before the doorbell rings.

Emily gestures for Aria to get it, and she comes back with Toby trailing behind. She hangs up, looking at him in confusion.

"Surveillance," he says. "Mona sent me. Now come on. I know where to go."

There's no time for questions, so Emily and Aria grab their bags and follow him out the door. His car is parked across the street and down a little, so Hanna wouldn't have noticed it. Emily herself wouldn't have noticed it unless he pointed out it.

Once they're in the car and on the way, Emily feels better. Back at Hanna's she'd broken down, but she doesn't have time for that now. She needs to be strong. She needs to be calm and logical so that she can save her. Every second counts, and to her relief Toby is driving as fast as he can. If she'd been driving she would have been going faster, but she doesn't push it. As long as they get there in time.

"How far away is it?" she asks nervously, watching houses blur as he speeds up.

"Ten minutes, maybe," he says, glancing in the rear-view mirror.

"It'll be okay." Aria rubs Emily's shoulder in a comforting way. "We'll get there."

Although Emily knows she's just saying it to make her feel better, she lets her guard down and allows herself to trust it. They will get there in time. The alternative is unthinkable, so she won't think it. They'll get there in time. They have to.

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**How much would you guys hate me if they didn't get there in time? Build you up and make you expect a happy Hannily ending, only to cut it off short... that would be mean, right? But AM I that mean? *evil laugh***


	40. The Rescue

**This chapter's shoutout actually goes to my friend, who probably won't read this because she's too lame to like PLL, but she helped me figure out the logistics of this chapter, so thanks C!**

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Eight minutes later they pull up outside a house with a garden full of daffodils and tulips. There are children's toys scattered on the porch and uncollected mail in the mailbox. Emily looks at Toby questioningly.

"Trust me," he says. "And follow me. We have to be quiet."

Aria and Emily exchange a glance and then get out of the car after him. As they start walking down the path, Aria grabs Emily's arm and points to something in the garden. There's a circle of daffodils, then a smaller circle of tulips. And inside that is a collection of roses, arranged so that they form a delicate shape: an A.

"She's mocking us," Emily says grimly, not even pretending to be surprised. Forgetting Toby's warning she breaks away from the others and marches up to the door, raising her hand to knock.

"Em, think about this," Aria says in an urgent whisper, stepping in front of the door. "We don't know what we're walking into."

"And we won't figure it out by standing around out here," she argues.

She knows this is possibly the stupidest thing she's done – and that's saying a lot, given the choices she's made in the past couple of weeks – but she doesn't care. She needs to get to Hanna, and that's all she knows. She tunes out Aria and Toby as she pushes past them and walks through the door.

The second she sets foot inside she feels something slam into her, and she stumbles sideways. By the time she's righted herself Mona has closed and locked the door and is standing in front of her. She darts a look at the door; she can hear the others trying to get in, and Aria's shouting for her. But she locks her eyes onto Mona and ignores them.

"Where is she?" she says, her voice close to a growl.

"So Juliet came to save her Romeo," Mona says. "I'm impressed."

"Where _is_ she?" Emily steps closer to her, feeling the blood rush to her head and fury fill her heart. If Mona hurt Hanna at all –

Before Emily has time to react, Mona pulls a gun on her. Emily freezes, and then instinctively puts her hands up. Mona's mouth quirks in half a smile. She seems to love being in control, and if she has the gun, she has the power.

"That's better." Mona gestures with the gun. "Now walk."

There's no choice but to obey. Mona directs her across the room, through the open door, and into the next room. It's empty aside from a closet and a bed. And lying on the bed, unconscious but apparently unhurt, is Hanna.

"Oh god." Emily, forgetting about Mona and the gun, rushes to her.

"How touching," Mona says scathingly. "Now, how about -"

Someone knocks at the door, making both Emily and Mona jump. Mona scowls, and Emily's not sure if she's more annoyed at being interrupted or at being surprised by it.

"Stay there," Mona instructs, and Emily doesn't argue.

She sits down by Hanna's side, stroking her hair, and watches as Mona crosses the room and goes to the front door. The bedroom is directly behind the front room, so Emily can see Mona reach the door and pause.

"Who is it?" Mona calls.

Emily can't hear the reply, but apparently it's satisfactory because Mona opens the door. At first Emily can't see who it is, but then Mona steps to the side, and the newcomers step around her. It's Toby, one hand wrapped around Aria's arm, a hard glint in his eyes. Aria herself looks terrified.

"I found her skulking around outside," he says, roughly pushing her forward.

"They're like cockroaches," Mona says disdainfully. "Where there's one, there's a whole plague of them."

"Toby!" Emily cries. She's not sure whether he's really on Mona's side or if he's just acting, but either way it can't hurt for her to look upset. "What are you doing?"

He doesn't look at her, but Aria catches her eye and winks. Emily feels a flood of relief. So this is a plan. Toby's still on their side; he always was. Maybe they can get out of this.

"Take her out the back," Mona says. "We'll deal with her later."

Toby tightens his grip on Aria's arm and half-pushes, half-drags her across the room. Mona starts moving back towards Emily, who backs away. For a moment they stay in that tableau, and the pounding of Emily's heart fills her ears, making her dizzy. Then they hear a sound that makes all of them freeze.

Sirens.

Emily can see Mona quickly calculating her chances in her head; always logical, rational, following the plan. Aria, meanwhile, has taken this opportunity to gain the other hand. She stomps on Toby's foot, which is enough to make him slacken his grip on her arm. She grabs his hand, digging her nails in, and he lets go completely. Free, she dashes across the room to Emily. Mona still hasn't moved.

Aria falls into Emily's arms; Toby hadn't been a real threat, but Mona still is. She's looking at them, logic and emotion battling in her eyes. Then she curses softly.

"Let's get out of here," she says, as the blue and red lights from the police car flood the room.

She and Toby make their exit out the back door, leaving the girls alone. Emily turns back to Hanna, who's still unconscious.

"Did you call the police?"

Aria nods. "I figured it was worth a shot."

Emily opens her mouth to speak, but Aria does first.

"Thank me later. Now let's just get Hanna out of here."

They manage to get Hanna up, supporting her between them, and carry her out the door. They're gone before the police get there, and Hanna's awake by the time they get back to her place; they had to catch a cab back because Toby was gone. They lay Hanna down on her bed, waiting until she's fully conscious before they explain everything that happened. She takes a few hours to fully rise from the fog of whatever drug Mona had given to knock her out, and the girls decide to stay with her all night. No one should be alone tonight.

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**The rest of the story takes place over the space of one day (except the epilogue, but we'll get to that). It's going to be one heck of a day for our girls, let me tell you. I might take a couple of days off updating, just to build suspense and whatnot (okay, mostly so I can re-read/perfect the ending so I know it makes sense and is actually worth reading), but I will start posting again very soon. So please read, review, and let me know what you thought of these last chapters. :)**


	41. The Guilt

**Well, I'm back! I've spent the past couple of days working on a new story, which I'll start publishing after I've finished this one - so if you've enjoyed The Weakest Link, please keep an eye out for it! Now, this chapter is where things really start to happen. It starts off a bit slow, but stick with it. So here we go...**

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Ever since this whole thing with –A started, things haven't been right. Or maybe they were wrong long before that. While Spencer was going into her downward spiral, she'd said something to Aria, and she, in turn, had told the other girls._ Maybe we should stop blaming –A for everything that goes wrong in our lives_. Aria and Hanna had brushed it off, claiming that –A was still at fault, and they had to keep working to figure out who it was so they could stop them. But Emily hadn't been able to ignore it so easily.

_Maybe we should start blaming ourselves. _Were they at fault? Had they brought this on themselves? They'd all done questionable things in the past, sometimes downright horrible things, but were they any worse than anyone else? Who among them, especially in Rosewood, didn't have secrets they wanted to keep buried?

Somewhere deep down, Emily felt that she needed to atone for what she'd done, for what she'd let Alison do. She'd never stood up to her; she'd been so focused on making friends, fitting in, and of course so helplessly in love with her friend, that she had let Alison walk all over her. She could never say no.

But was it time now? Was it time to say, wait, enough is enough, we've served our penance and we deserve to live? It wasn't them who'd bullied Mona or Paige, at least not directly. They hadn't been responsible for the death of Lucas' sister. They were being punished for somebody else's crimes, but still, Emily almost felt that she deserved it. If she hadn't been busy comforting Hanna last night, these thoughts would have kept her up anyway.

Mona doesn't show up for school the next day, and Toby doesn't contact them. The girls debated telling the police what happened, but if they get Mona arrested there's no way she's staying quiet – and she knows too much about them. It's too risky to get on her bad side. Emily is worried about Toby, but she knows it's not safe to contact him. His cover hasn't been blown – as far as Mona knows, Toby is still on her side. So they have to wait for him to contact them, if he can.

Having spent most of last night consoling Hanna, who was understandably shaken up, Emily is tired. She keeps almost falling asleep in class, and at lunch she ignores food in favor of laying her head on the table and closing her eyes. Hanna and Aria talk in hushed voices, trying not to disturb her. They've all had a hard time of it lately, but Emily is the most depressed today. She feels like she's to blame for Hanna's kidnapping; the guilt weighs on her, an almost physical presence that makes it hard to breathe.

Emily drifts through the day in a daze, so she's surprised when she looks at the clock and realizes that school will be over in less than twenty minutes. After school she and the girls had plans to go to Aria's and hang out. They needed to get their mind off of everything and just relax and be normal teenagers again. It had been so long since Emily had been able to think about anything besides the A-Team that she's not sure she'll even be able to switch off for long enough to have fun with her friends. But she's going to try.

On the way to Aria's she picks up some essentials – popcorn, candy, and trashy movies. If they're going to pretend that things are like they used to be, they may as well go all out. When she gets there Hanna is already curled up on Aria's couch, holding a cup of some steaming liquid.

"Tea?" Emily asks. It's their beverage of choice when it comes to consolation and comfort.

"Coffee," Hanna replies. "Want some?"

"Who made it?" Emily asks, walking towards the kitchen with her bagful of snacks.

"I did." Aria comes out of the kitchen bearing a bowl of chips, which she sets down on the low table in front of the TV.

"Isn't that usually too strong for you, Han?" Emily asks, dumping the snacks on the table and coming back to the main room. "It'll keep you up all night."

"That's the point." Hanna looks at the TV, careful to make her voice neutral.

She doesn't have to say it; Emily gets it. After that night with Lyndon, Nate, whatever his name was, she'd been unable to sleep for days. She'd stayed up most nights talking on the phone to Paige, who also couldn't sleep. And when their eyes had finally closed, both of them had been plagued by nightmares. It was a long time before she could close her eyes and not see that horrible sight. It was natural for Hanna to feel like this. But that didn't make it any less heartbreaking.

Aria sits down on the other couch, and Hanna moves over so Emily can sit beside her. They settle back to watch the movie, and Emily finds herself holding Hanna's hand, gently intertwining their fingers. If Aria hadn't been there she probably would have dared to do more – she really wants to kiss Hanna again, for a start – but just the feeling of Hanna's hand in hers makes her feel better. She hopes it has the same effect on her friend.

Halfway through the movie, which Emily hasn't been paying the slightest bit of attention to, her phone goes off.

"Sorry," she yelps, diving for it. "I'll take it into the kitchen."

"Do you want us to pause the movie?" Aria asks.

Emily shakes her head, already at the door to the kitchen. She answers the phone the moment she steps inside. "Hello?"

"Emily." Toby's voice is soft, insistent. "We need to talk."

"What's up?" The way he's talking makes her very nervous. Something sounds seriously wrong.

"I found out something," he says. "And if Mona finds out I told you, she'll kill me. So I'm going to tell you this, and then I'm going to get out of town. Don't try to find me. Understood?"

"Toby, what -"

"Emily, I need you to promise that you won't come looking for me."

There doesn't seem to be another option. "Fine, Toby. I promise. Now what's going on?"

"I know what Mona's planning," he says in a rush. In the background she can hear some kind of faint rustling, and she wonders briefly where he is. "Spencer -"

He breaks off. She hears him exhale sharply, and an unidentifiable voice in the background. Then there's a thud, and then, even worse, there's silence.

"Toby?" Emily's heart stops. "_Toby?_"

The silence stretches on.

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**As always, review and let me know what you think!**


	42. The Leader

**I'll probably be posting two chapters at a time from here. Don't want to keep you in TOO much suspense. ;)**

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"We have to go," she says, marching into the main room.

"What is it?" Hanna asks absently, seemingly lethargic despite the coffee.

Aria sits up, resting her arm on the back of the couch, and looks at Emily. "Em, what's going on?" she asks, alarmed by her seriousness.

"I'll explain on the way," she says, picking up the remote and turning the TV off. "Just get in the car."

Her two friends don't argue. They've known her long enough to be able to tell when it's better just to shut up and do as you're told, and this is one of those times. Nobody speaks until they pull out of the driveway and start down the street.

"Emily, what's going on?" Hanna asks. "You're scaring me."

"Sorry." Emily's knuckles are white from how hard she's gripping the steering wheel. She makes a conscious effort to loosen her grip, and takes a deep breath. "That was Toby on the phone."

"He's okay?" Aria almost allows herself to smile, but then she sees that Emily still looks serious. "He _is_ okay, isn't he?"

"I don't know. He said he found something out, something about what Mona's planning. He was about to tell me, but then…"

"What happened?"

Hanna's voice is gentle, and it makes Emily feel like crying. Is she really back to being that broken-glass girl she used to be, the one you had to talk in whispers around because she might crack?

"He got cut off," she replies. "I'm not sure what happened, but it… it sounded like someone stopped him. Hurt him, even."

"Oh god." Aria's face goes pale.

"So where are we going?" Hanna asks, peering out the window. "Do we know where he is?"

She shakes her head. "I have no idea where he is," she says, "or what he was going to tell me. But the last thing he said might have been a clue."

"What was it?"

As they pull into the parking lot, Aria catches on and answers for her. "Spencer."

"It was the last thing he said before he got cut off," Emily explains. "So it's the first place we should look."

"I hope she's okay," Hanna says worriedly as they get out of the car and walk up to the front door.

Emily walks quickly, although she's having trouble remembering how to move her legs. Everything non-essential gets pushed from her mind; all she knows is that Toby could be hurt, and Spencer could be in danger, and she needs to do whatever she can to help them. When they reach the reception desk there's somebody else there, so they're forced to wait while precious seconds trickle by. Mona could be doing anything right now. The thought makes Emily feel faint.

Finally the person in front of them moves away, and Emily walks up to the desk.

"Hi," she says, not even pretending to be cheerful. "We're here to visit someone. Her name's Spencer, Spencer Hastings."

The receptionist carefully examines a book in front of her, and then turns sympathetic blue eyes on Emily. "I'm sorry, dear, you can't see her."

Emily shoots a frantic look back at her friends. "You don't understand. We have to see her. It's really important. We'd only be -"

"You're misunderstanding," the woman says, breaking into a smile. "Miss Hastings checked out this morning."

"She – what? Are you sure?"

The woman checks the book again, flicking forward and back a couple of pages, and then nods. "Yes, I'm sure. The doctors decided it was safe to release her, and she left earlier today. So if you want to visit her, you're going to have to go and find her."

A million thoughts hit Emily at once, and she just stands there, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide, her heart beating like a hummingbird being strangled to death.

"Thank you," Aria says to the receptionist, breaking through Emily's deluge of thoughts. She feels hands on her shoulders, someone guiding her outside. She lets herself be led over to the car, but then she just leans against it, fighting the urge to scream or cry or collapse on the ground.

"Hey," Hanna says softly, "this could be good news. Spencer checked out of Radley. Maybe she's home already, just -"

"Then why wouldn't she have told us?" Emily asks. "She would want to see us."

"Maybe she just needed some time to herself," Aria offers.

"She's been in a mental hospital for weeks," Emily points out. "She's had enough time to be alone."

"Maybe -"

"_Stop_," Emily says firmly. "Just stop coming up with ways to try to make me feel better, because it's not going to work. Spencer checked out and didn't tell us about it. That probably means that she couldn't. And that probably means that –"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Aria interrupts. "Let's just go to her house and see if she's there. Okay?"

Numb, Emily nods. On the way they all try calling her, but she doesn't answer. Emily hadn't expected her to. She has a feeling that something very bad has happened.

When they get to her house, they find it deserted. Her sister isn't there, and her parents aren't either. It doesn't look like anyone's been there in a couple of days; there's uncollected mail in the mailbox, and no cars out the front.

"Damn it," Aria mutters, finally letting her worry show. "Where the hell is she?"

Hanna tries calling her, and then throws her phone into some nearby bushes in frustration. "What if something happened to her?"

Emily finds herself falling into the role of leader. Normally she's content to sit back and let someone else take the lead, but Aria and Hanna are unravelling before her eyes. If she doesn't step in, things could take a turn for the even-worse.

She picks up Hanna's phone and gives it back to her. Then she tries knocking on the door again, to no avail. Finally she opens her mouth to tell everyone to take a step back so they can figure out what to do next, but she doesn't get that far. Simultaneously, all of their phones go off. Emily pulls out her phone, preparing for an –A-text. But when she sees who the message is from, she almost drops her phone in surprise.

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**Any guesses as to who it is?**


	43. The Prodigal

**You guys responded so quickly and so enthusiastically to my last chapter that I decided to give you one more today. To Vic and RabbitHole26, thanks for the guesses - you were both right! dmpanda5, there will be some nice Hannily moments in the next couple chapters. Anon, thank you so much! I usually have a hard time balancing actual plot with relationship stuff, so I'm glad it seems to be working here. And Cj and Santana4ever, thank you for the comments - it makes me really excited to see how much people are getting into my story. I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

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**I checked out of Radley today. I needed some time to clear my head, but I'm ready to see you guys now. Can you come and meet me at the Lodge? – Spencer**

They all read the text, and then they wait for someone else to speak first. Seeing that no one's going to, Emily steps up.

"It sounds like she's okay, doesn't it?"

"I guess." Hanna seems uncertain, but hopeful. "We should go and see her."

Aria's already getting in the car. Emily slides in after her, letting Hanna take the wheel. The Lodge was somewhere they went sometimes, when they wanted to get away from everything. It wasn't quite as secluded as the lake house, but somehow it was more peaceful. Normally Emily was excited to go there, but now she couldn't feel anything but dread. Spencer wanted to see them; she was out of Radley. This was great news, she knew, but she wasn't feeling that rush of relief she should after hearing that her friend was okay. Something still felt wrong.

It takes them half an hour to get there. It usually takes closer to an hour, but they're in no mood to play it safe. They need to see Spencer. Emily feels the desperate desire to be with her, just to know that she's really okay. Unless she has definite proof that Spencer is unhurt, she's hesitant to believe it. She knows the others feel the same way, because there's a deathly silence filling the car. They want to be happy, and they know they should be, but they can't rise above their suspicions and doubts.

Hanna brings the car to a sudden stop outside the lodge. They sit there for a long time after she turns the engine off, not sure how to proceed.

"I suppose we should go inside," Aria says at last.

"Guess so," Emily agrees, and they get out of the car.

The walk up to the lodge is only a few yards, but it feels much longer. Emily feels like each step is bringing her closer to something awful, towards some unspeakable danger. With everything that happened last night, with whatever happened to Toby, she doesn't feel safe. But what if Spencer isn't safe? What if she's in there, what if she's hurt? The thought makes Emily's footsteps and heartbeat quicken, and she reaches the door before the others.

She contemplates knocking, but there's not much point. Nobody besides Spencer would be up here at this time. She stands on the doorstep, gathering her courage. She doesn't seem to have much of it left anymore; she would much rather go back home and forget about all of this. It's only the guilt, or the possibility of it, that keeps her here. Well, that and the curiosity. Something is going on here, and she won't be able to sleep until she knows what it is.

She reaches out a hand, turns the doorknob, and steps inside. The other girls follow her, letting the door swing closed behind them. They're in the front room of the lodge, which has never been used for anything much. The back rooms are smaller, more intimate. This room is big and empty, with a light that never works and windows that don't keep out the draught. Once or twice they'd spent time out here with a lot of other people – Hanna's last birthday party, for example, to which she'd invited half the grade – because all of the body heat had kept the room at a comfortable level.

But now it feels cold. Emily knows it's more than the wind, more than the falling darkness. She feels cold on so many levels, in her limbs and her heart and her stomach.

"Spencer?" she calls softly. She's not sure why she's keeping her voice down. Nobody else would be out here, would they?

When there's no reply, the girls branch off to the two other doors in the room. Emily and Hanna go to the one on the left, which goes to the bathroom, and Aria goes to the one on the right, which leads to the kitchen. To her surprise, Emily finds the door locked.

"That's weird," she mutters. They never lock the doors; they hardly ever even lock the front door. There's nothing here worth stealing.

"The door's locked," Aria calls from across the room.

"That's really weird," Hanna agrees as they reconvene in the middle of the room.

There's a sound then, something barely audible but unmistakeable. It's the sound of the front door being locked from the outside. The girls sprint towards it, but they're too late. Emily throws herself against it, scrabbling for the doorknob, but it's no use. They're locked in.

She spins around, searching for other ways out. Across the room are two windows, but they're too high up for them to reach. All their exits are effectively blocked. They're trapped.

"This was a setup," Aria says, her voice almost like a whimper.

"Red Coat?" Hanna asks. "Do you think she did this?"

"Maybe. Or it could have been Mona," Emily suggests. "Or Paige, or Jason."

"Or Spencer," Aria says hesitantly.

The other two stare at her.

"What? She was the one who sent the text," Aria reminds them. "She's been so distant lately, we have no idea what's been going on with her. What if she joined the team?"

Although Emily hates to admit it, she knows there's logic in the argument. "We know Mona's asked her before," Emily concedes. "Maybe after she kicked me off the team she asked Spencer again."

"Or maybe she's just a victim in all of this," Hanna says. "Spencer wouldn't hurt us. I know she's been in a funk lately, but that doesn't mean she'd want to help Mona."

"What if -" Aria says, but they never find out what she's going to suggest because at that moment the front door creaks open.

In unison they whirl around and stare at the door, watching as a tall figure enters the room. Emily is the first to recognise them, making out the features by the dim moonlight shining through the windows. She takes half a step forward, intending on running to her friend.

"Spencer, what -"

The words die in her throat as Spencer steps inside, putting her hands over her head in surrender. Emily only has a second to try to piece it together before another figure steps through the door, closing it behind them. And now Emily can see the whole picture: Spencer, her eyes wide and terrified. And behind her, Mona, pointing a gun at Spencer's head.

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**Did I say one more chapter? I meant one more cliffhanger. ;)**


	44. The Reunion

**The next two chapters are possibly my favorites, so please review and let me know what you think!**

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Every muscle in Emily's body goes still. Her eyes lock onto Spencer's; she can hear Aria and Hanna move behind her, but she doesn't look. She can't tear her attention away from the sight of her friend, terrified and at gunpoint.

"Please don't hurt her," Emily whispers, but the sound carries clearly enough across the room.

Mona moves the gun closer to Spencer's face, watching as the other girl flinches. "Don't give me a reason to."

"Spencer -" Aria says, moving forwards.

Mona turns the gun on Aria for a second, then swings it back to Spencer warningly. "Now, now, don't be hasty. We wouldn't want anybody to get hurt, would we?"

Aria freezes.

"That's better." Mona smiles. "Now, you three, back up."

Emily backs up so fast she hits the wall with a thud. Her eyes never leave Spencer's face. She looks tired, confused, and she's close to tears. The sight makes Emily's throat constrict. She wants to help her, to hold her and hug her and tell her it's going to be okay, but if she wants to keep her safe she has to obey Mona. She hates this.

"Mona, what do you want?" Hanna is the only one daring enough to speak to her like that; they'd been so close that she feels entitled to address her so forcefully.

"What do you care?" she replies, with the slightest hint of pain. "You're not my friend anymore."

"Is that what this is about?" Hanna asks. "You still think I chose them over you?"

"It's not about that," Mona snaps. "It's never been about that. It's never even been about you."

"What do you mean?"

Mona pauses, seeming to consider whether or not to tell them. Then, with an almost visible mental shrug, she says, "It's always been about Alison."

Before anyone can respond to that, Mona makes a mistake. As the leader of the A-Team she rarely makes mistakes, because even the slightest slip-up could get her caught or killed. But now, for just a second, she shifts her focus away from Spencer. It's almost imperceptible, a slight loosening of her grip on the gun, tilting it away for just a moment. Emily sees the intent in Spencer's eyes, but she doesn't even have time to cry out, to tell her not to do something so reckless.

Spencer launches herself at Mona, reaching for her, the gun, anything. For a moment Emily thinks she has a chance, but Mona reacts too quickly. In one smooth move she grabs Spencer's wrist, yanks it so hard the other girl cries out, and then slams her against the wall. Emily lets out a strangled cry as Spencer hits the wall with such force that she blacks out, sinking slowly to the ground as blood dribbles down her forehead.

Emily hears Hanna and Aria gasp, and she knows that if Mona didn't have a gun they would all rush to Spencer's side. But now Mona turns the gun on them, looking almost relieved that she doesn't have to deal with Spencer anymore.

"I warned you," she says dispassionately. "Anybody else want to play the hero?"

Emily can feel the tears start to come, but she tries desperately to hold them back. The situation is bad enough without looking weak in front of Mona. But everything is just too much, and she feels the first tear start to slide down her cheek. Almost immediately she feels somebody grab her hand, gently, slowly, and she looks over to see Hanna. She isn't looking at Emily; her eyes are fixed on Mona with such hatred and anger that Emily is surprised Mona doesn't just burst into flames then and there.

Hanna's touch is enough to ground Emily for the moment. There's no sense breaking down. That's not going to save Spencer, and it's not going to help them. She needs to keep being strong. She will not be the weakest link, no matter what Mona puts them through. She will not break.

Mona's hand is steady as she points the gun at each of the girls in turn. She settles on Emily, a hard glint in her eyes. "You know, I didn't think you had it in you to double-cross me. Props for that. Unfortunately it's not going to be enough to save you and your friends."

Emily closes her eyes, sure that she's going to die. She probably would have, if there hadn't been a knock on the door at that exact moment. Mona sighs, annoyed by the interruption. Emily opens her eyes to see Mona opening the door, revealing two people.

She gasps when she sees who it is, but she doesn't say his name. Any sound from her might remind Mona that she's there, and she doesn't want that. She feels Hanna squeezing her hand in comfort, and gives her a grateful look. Then she looks back to the scene on the other side of the room. Mona closes the door, and Jason steps forward, shoving Toby in front of him. Toby looks like someone took some heavy object to his face repeatedly, which is entirely possible given who they're dealing with. His eyes are swollen, his face bloody, and he looks like he's struggling to stay conscious. Jason lets go of his arm, roughly pushing him forward, and Toby collapses onto the ground with a cry of pain.

"Is that it, then?" Mona asks.

Jason nods. "These five should do it."

Mona turns back to them. "I guess we're going to have to cut this little meeting short," she says. "Things to do, people to see. Bigger fish to fry."

She turns on her heel and starts towards the door, stopping at the last moment to turn back and blow them a kiss. Then she's gone, and Jason, without a backwards glance, follows her, closing and locking the door behind him.

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**Uh oh. Things don't look good for our little liars...**


	45. The Explanation

**Only a few more chapters to go! You guys excited to see how it ends?**

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A stunned silence follows. Emily feels like her mind is stuck in quicksand; she's struggling to process everything, but the more she thinks the less things seem to make sense. She breaks out of her reverie when Aria dashes past her and crouches down beside Toby. Suddenly everything is moving too fast, like a tape stuck on fast-forward. She needs to catch up, but she doesn't know where to start.

Hanna goes over to Spencer, who hasn't woken up, and starts gently wiping the blood off with her sleeve. Emily glances from her to Aria, and then goes over to Toby. He looks up at her, his disfigured face contorted in a look of pain.

"Spencer?" he asks weakly.

She glances over, then back at him. "She'll be okay," she says, hoping it's true.

"What happened?" Aria helps him into a more upright position; it looks like he might have a couple of broken ribs, because he's holding his side and wincing with every intake of breath. But his own pain diminishes in importance to him; Spencer is all that matters.

"Mona," Toby says, and starts coughing. He puts his sleeve to his mouth, and when he pulls it away again there's a smear of blood on it. He ignores it and keeps talking, his voice hoarse and raspy. "I found out that her plan was to have Spencer lure you here. But then she realized I was playing her, that I was on your side. So she sent Jason to deal with me. I thought he was going to kill me, but he said… he said he wanted to make me more 'manageable'. He told me that the quieter I was, the better. I guess they wanted me here for some reason."

"Why _are_ we here?" Emily asks. After the door shut, nothing had happened. There had to be more to the plan than this, which probably means something horrible is coming. If they know what it is, maybe they can do something to stop it. "What's she going to do to us?"

"I don't know." Toby draws in a ragged breath. "But the others are in on it. Jason and Paige. They'll be here, somewhere."

Both Aria and Emily flinch at the names of their former lovers, but Emily forces herself to push those feelings aside and focus on what's going on now. They may not have much time.

"She said it wasn't about us," Emily says slowly. "That it was about Alison. What did she mean?"

Toby shakes his head, his eyes starting to close. Emily knows enough first aid to realize that they shouldn't let him sleep; he might not wake up.

"Toby, stay with me," she says urgently.

He blinks, and then he tries to stand up.

"Whoa," Aria says, grabbing his shoulder, half to steady him and half to stop him from getting up, "what do you think you're doing?"

"I need to… need to rest," he murmurs.

"Good idea," Emily says, catching on. She wraps her arm around his shoulders. "Aria, can you help?"

With their help he manages to get over to the wall, and he slides down it, his face brightening with relief. He leans his head against the wall, letting it support his weight. Emily is about to ask if there's anything else she can do to help, but Hanna speaks first.

"Guys, she's waking up."

Emily shoots a look at Toby, who replies just as silently: _Go_. She scurries over to Hanna and Spencer, with Aria barely a step behind. They huddle around their friend as she slowly regains consciousness, her eyes widening in confusion and then darkening as realisation hits.

"Are you guys okay?" she mumbles groggily.

"We're fine," Aria assures her. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I just got knocked out by a crazy person," Spencer replies. She squeezes her eyes closed, then opens them and looks around blearily. "How long have I been out?"

"A few minutes," Hanna says.

Spencer tries to sit up, but as soon as she puts her hand on the ground she jerks it back with a cry of pain. "Did that bitch break my wrist?" she asks, almost more indignant than angry.

Before anyone can respond, Spencer notices Toby. A thousand emotions flicker through her eyes like fireworks, until one explodes and the expression covers her face: concern. "Toby?" she whispers faintly, and moves towards him.

Hanna and Emily gently but quickly push her back against the wall.

"Don't move, Spence," Aria says. "We don't know how bad you're hurt."

"Is he okay?" she asks desperately, her voice caught between a sob and a scream.

"He'll be fine," Hanna assures her, although none of them are sure.

Spencer slumps back against the wall, cradling her wrist and looking like she's about to cry. Emily wants to hug her, but she knows that a tear-filled reunion will have to wait. Right now they just need answers.

"What happened?" Emily rests her hand on Spencer's leg, the most comforting thing she can do under the circumstances.

Spencer glances at her, appreciative. Then she takes a shuddering breath and says, "After I turned Mona down, she came to me again. She told me Toby was alive, and if I helped her…"

"You'd get him back," Aria finishes softly.

Spencer nods. "And I thought maybe if I joined, I could find out what was going on."

"So you were a double agent too?" Emily asks.

"Of course. I would never hurt you guys." She looks away, her eyes drifting around the room, and when they land on Toby she has to stop herself from crying. She squares her shoulders, sets her jaw, and keeps talking. "Then you all came to see me, and Emily told me she was on the team too. That was when I started thinking this was all a setup. On some level I knew that Mona didn't trust me, that she was just using me. But if it meant I could have Toby back…. I'm sorry. I never meant for it to go this far."

"It's okay, Spencer," Hanna says tenderly.

"I thought -" Spencer's voice hitches and she has to look away for a moment before she continues. "I thought I'd have time to warn you guys, after I sent that text. I knew Mona just wanted to get us all here as part of some undoubtedly nefarious plan, but I'd hoped I would be able to do something about it. But the second I sent that text she turned on me, and she had a gun, and… I couldn't stop her…"

Without thinking, Emily wraps her arms around her friend and envelopes her in a hug. Hanna and Aria join her, and they stay there for as long as they dare, holding onto each other for what could very well be the last time.

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**As always, reviews are very welcome. :)**


	46. The Start

**Thank you so much for your reviews, guys! A lot's going to happen in the next few chapters, but don't worry, you guys will get your happy ending... probably. Since you guys seem to be enjoying not only my story but my writing style, I'm going to take a moment to shamelessly recommend that you check out my other PLL stories: "Get Good"/"Can't Count On Me" (follows what happens to Spencer and Aria after 3x22), and "Tuesday Night" (Wrencer one-shot). I'm also working on another multi-chapter, working title "A is for Arlene", which I'll start publishing as soon as I finish this one. So if you feel like it go read them and let me know what you think. :)**

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When they pull away, none of the girls are dry-eyed. The past few weeks have been hell for all of them, and they have a feeling it's only going to get worse.

"What do you think she's going to do to us?" Hanna asks anxiously, her eyes darting around the room.

"I don't know." Aria licks her lips, a nervous habit. "But whatever it is, we've gotta find a way to stop it."

"I think our first step should be trying to find a way out of here," Emily says, standing up. She knows it's a long shot, and they're probably trapped for good, but if by some chance they can get out they might be able to walk away from this.

"Right." Aria stands up and goes to the front door, turning the knob every way she can think of.

Emily starts to go over to where the windows are, on the off-chance there's some way to reach them, but she's stopped by Spencer's voice.

"Guys, can you help me up?"

"Are you sure?" Emily asks. If Spencer has a concussion, it's probably best not to move her.

"I'm sure." She looks over to Toby, her expression softening. "I just need to…"

The meaning is clear. Without any more hesitation Emily and Hanna help her to her feet, and she leans on them as they walk over to Toby. They help her sit down beside him; they at least can have their reunion. Neither of them is in any shape to help at the moment.

The girls spread out and canvas the room, searching for any structural weaknesses, hidden exits, even anything they could use as a weapon. They all come up empty-handed. Disheartened, Emily leads the way back to Toby and Spencer, and they all settle around them. Suddenly something occurs to her.

"Spence, Mona said something about this not being about us. She said it had always been about something else. I mean, someone else. Do you -"

"Ali." Spencer's voice is so soft the others can hardly hear her. She looks up at them, her face pale and her eyes troubled. "It was about Ali. She… she's alive."

There's a deafening silence. They can almost feel the weight of unsaid words pressing down on them. They all know somebody should say something, but nobody can figure out how.

Spencer clears her throat. "At least, Mona thinks she is. She told me that this, all of this, was never about us. I mean, maybe a part of it was, but we weren't the main focus. She thinks Ali is alive, that she's in hiding… and the way to draw her out was to get to us."

Aria looks at them all, her eyes wide. "Do you think she's going to kill us?"

"I wouldn't put it past her," Hanna says grimly.

"We can't let her get away with this," Spencer says, aiming for vehemence but only managing a kind of impotent frustration.

"We won't," Emily says confidently. She's not sure how she manages to sound confident, because all she feels is terror. "We just have to figure out a way to get out of here."

Toby coughs, wiping blood away from his mouth, and Spencer quickly turns to him, concern sharpening her expression. She uses the edge of her sleeve to dab away some of the blood on his face, and he looks at her with so much pain and love in his eyes that even Emily, on the outside, is moved.

"I'm sorry," he says weakly. "I was trying to protect you. All of you. I wanted…"

"Shh," Spencer says, cupping his chin with her hand. "It's okay, Toby. We'll be okay."

He shakes his head, the action making him wince. "I put you all in danger. If I hadn't let been caught…"

"It doesn't matter," Emily interrupts. "Mona was going to put this plan into action anyway. There was nothing we could have done to stop it."

Maybe that's true. Maybe no matter what they did, no matter how hard they fought against it, this was their fate. They were destined to end up here, pawns in Mona's game with Alison, who may or may not be alive. Strangely, the thought almost makes Emily laugh. This had never been about them. They were not paying for their crimes, serving penance for the sins. Their own wrongdoings were irrelevant. It wouldn't have mattered if they'd done everything by the books, if they'd never made another mistake. Their first mistake had been enough: falling under Alison's spell.

She had captivated them, and they had all been so dazzled that they would have followed her blinding light anywhere. They had coveted her friendship, envied and admired everything she was, and they hadn't been able to see under the surface. But when they finally could, when they saw that she was just like them, flawed and tainted and full of insecurity, it had been too late. And it had brought them here.

"I should have tried harder," Toby persists. "Maybe -"

He stops talking abruptly, interrupted by a sound. They all hear it, but nobody can make sense of it right away. Although the pieces of the puzzle haven't quite sorted themselves out in Emily's mind, she feels inexplicably terrified. It's not until a burst of orange light shoots across the window that they all understand what's happening.

"Oh god," Hanna whimpers, "we're going to die."

The lodge is on fire.

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**Although aspects of the end of the story might seem similar to the S3B finale, it has a very different ending. I mean, for one thing you're going to get some answers. ;)**


	47. The Miracle

**Thank you so much for the reviews! This chapter's shoutout goes to GM - I'm sorry about your paper though. And I believe someone asked for more Hannily? Enjoy...**

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Emily has been through a lot. She's endured more than most people will in a lifetime, and she's had to keep up her normal-high-school-girl act the whole time. The only way she's ever found to cope with it all is to just… detach. She lets her mind float away, blocking out extraneous noise, separating herself from her emotions and thoughts. It's starting to happen now, even though she doesn't want it to. She inhales a mouthful of smoke, she feels the wall become warm to the touch, but it's all from a distance, like it's happening to someone else.

"Emily?"

Someone is calling her name. She knows this, and she knows that she should reply. She knows she needs to snap out of this so she can help her friends. But somewhere deep down, she knows she's already given up. She honestly believes they're going to die, and she doesn't want to spend her last minutes in a panic. She shakes her head, clearing away the mental fog that's been spreading through her, and turns to the girl who called her name.

Hanna's eyes are bright, terrified. But behind that is something that's become familiar to Emily, a tentative longing that she's never quite been able to put into words. Without thinking she leans forward, falling into Hanna's embrace, leaning into her kiss, losing herself in the moment. She's dimly aware of Spencer and Toby staring at them, and Aria politely looking away, but none of that matters. She feels like she's drinking Hanna in, like the blond girl is lending her bravery and courage and all those other things she's been lacking. In Hanna she finds solace, strength, and, somehow, the desire to go on.

The kiss conveys more than words ever could. She knows that Hanna feels the same. As Emily runs her hands down Hanna's back, brushing her hair away from her face, tracing lines down her arms, she can see their future stretching before them: picnics in the park, a first proper date, going to dances together, falling for her even more… If that's not worth fighting for, then what is?

Breathless, she pulls away, running a finger along her bottom lip and giving Hanna a shy smile. Hanna returns it warmly, her expression giving voice to emotions she's not yet ready to say aloud.

"What was that?" Spencer asks incredulously.

Emily shrugs, not taking her eyes away from Hanna. There'll be time for questions and explanations later. Once they get out of here they can talk through everything that's happened.

"Hey Toby?" Aria says suddenly.

He turns to her. "Mm?"

"I'm sorry I scratched you when we were rescuing Hanna. I had to make it look real in front of Mona."

To their surprise, he laughs. It seems to hurt him, but he doesn't mind. The sound is unexpected but not unwelcome; laughter seems somehow appropriate for such a crazy situation.

"These emotions and apologies are all well and good," Spencer says, "but in the meantime.. has anyone else noticed that the lodge is on _fire_?"

For a few minutes time had slowed down. The flames had moved in slow motion, the smoke curling around them sinuously, the danger imminent but distant. Now it all comes rushing back to them, and they're reminded of how dire the situation really is.

Emily, Hanna, and Aria jump to their feet and start trying to get the door open. Spencer laboriously hauls herself to her feet and comes over to join them, looking a little unsteady but determined. Despite their best efforts the door doesn't budge. It's locked, probably blocked from the outside, and the wood is too solid for them to break through. One by one they give up, overcome by the smoke that's now pouring through the cracks in the wall. They drag Toby away from the wall when it becomes too hot to touch, and then they huddle in the center of the room, breathing shallowly, clutching each other, and praying for a miracle.

Sometimes miracles happen. Sometimes they happen when you're least expecting them and when you most need them; they come from places you'd never expected, people you'd long ago given up on.

There's a creaking noise, and then a scraping. Emily, about to pass out from lack of oxygen, can barely turn her head towards the door as it slowly opens. Somebody walks into the room, stopping when they see the sorry-looking group huddled before them. Emily's not sure, but she thinks she sees a flicker of surprise and pain flash across that achingly familiar face.

"C'mon," Emily mumbles, struggling to her feet.

She reaches down and helps Hanna up, and even when she's standing they don't let go of each other. Aria stands up too, then bends down to help Spencer get Toby to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asks, frozen for a moment by fear and disbelief.

"There's no time," Alison replies, glancing at the door. "You need to get out of here."

At that moment the beam above the front door collapses, blocking their exit. Alison's eyes fly wide open and Emily feels her heart stop. That moment of hesitation may have just cost them their lives. They all stand there in stunned silence. Surely one of them will be able to come up with a plan? Why would Alison have come charging in here if she didn't have _some_ kind of a plan? But she's looking as lost as the rest of them.

Suddenly the other girls notice Alison.

"Ali?" Spencer says, as if she's not sure this is real.

"What's going on?" Aria asks, staring open-mouthed at their supposedly-dead friend.

Emily is right there with them. Alison is dead. They'd been to her funeral, her memorial. They'd said their farewells and they'd come to terms with her death… and it had all been a lie. A lie that doesn't matter now, because they're all going to die anyway.

Alison opens her mouth, but she doesn't get a chance to say anything. A shout rises up from the other side of the door, something heavy hits the wall, and suddenly there's a hole a few inches left of the door. There's another thud and the hole grows until it's big enough for someone to step through. Two shadowy figures are visible on the other side, one of them beckoning for them to come through.

Without hesitating Emily pulls Hanna towards it, plunges through, and emerges on the other side, collapsing gratefully into the slightly-scorched grass, her lungs burning and her eyes watering. Then she looks up into the face of their rescuers.

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**Hmm, who do you think it is?**


	48. The Reinforcements

**I can't believe this is almost over! Only one more chapter and then an epilogue to go. I had no idea this would become so popular (or so long!) and I want to thank every reader and reviewer. You guys are amazing.**

**I've actually been considering writing a quick companion story to this one. It would just be a one-shot from the perspective of each of the A-Team members (Mona, Jason, Lucas, Paige, Toby, maybe Spencer) explaining a bit about how and why they joined the team. Would anyone be interested in reading that?**

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Jason and Paige. _They'll be here, somewhere_. Toby had told her so, and yet she had never expected to see them. She could never have prepared herself to see Paige again, especially not reaching out to help her to her feet. Emily glares at the proffered hand, then glances inside. Nobody has followed them out.

"Where are the others?" Jason asks nervously, watching as flames dance across the roof, spitting embers and causing smoke to curl off into the sky like an omen of death.

"They didn't follow us," Hanna whispers numbly.

The hole through which they'd come is rapidly being blocked by flames and broken pieces of timber falling away. Emily gives herself a fraction of a second to enjoy the coolness outside, the knowledge that she's free, before she breaks away from Hanna and shoots towards the wall. She covers her mouth with her sleeve, takes a deep breath, and clambers through.

There's chaos on the other side. The roof is starting to collapse, and in one corner a beam has fallen to the floor, trapping something underneath it. Spencer is in the middle of the room, using her body to protect Toby from the worst of the ash and wood; he's too weak to move by himself, and she can't move him alone. She looks up when Emily enters, and she seems torn between shock and relief.

Wordlessly Emily drops down beside them, slinging one of Toby's arms around her neck. Spencer grabs his other arm and they pull him to his feet. He lets out a low moan but doesn't open his eyes.

"Where's Aria?" Emily asks.

"She…" Spencer's eyes dart to the corner, to the beam of wood. The one that's on top of some shadowy shape, something that looks… human?

If Emily hadn't needed to support Toby, she's sure her knees would have given way at that point. She stares at the beam, at her friend trapped beneath it. Then her gaze shifts back to Toby. Spencer can't get him out alone, especially not with her injured wrist. But if she goes to get Aria, she may not have time to help Toby. Oh god. Is she going to have to choose between Toby and Aria? She sees her own terror reflected in Spencer's eyes. For a long moment nobody moves.

Then there's a sound from the wall, and they're saved from having to make a decision by the arrival of Hanna. In response to their surprised looks, she dusts some ash out of her hair and manages half a smile. "You guys didn't think I'd let Emily be the hero by herself, did you?"

Emily rolls her eyes, and Hanna grins playfully at her. Then she becomes serious again as she asks, "Where's Ali?"

_Ali_. In all honesty, Emily had forgotten about her. When your friend is missing for a year and then pronounced dead, you tend to stop thinking about them in the present tense. And when you suddenly encounter them months later, in the middle of the most stressful night of your life, you're tempted to believe it's not real. Emily had half-hoped she'd been hallucinating, that Ali hadn't really been there. As much as she wanted her friend to be alive, it just didn't make sense. But if Hanna had seen her…

"She's over there," Spencer replies, jerking her head back to indicate the corner. "With Aria."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Hanna hurries over to the corner, dodging falling pieces of wood, and crouches down beside the two limp forms. She looks up at Spencer and Emily and says, "You guys get Toby out of here. I'll work on this."

She turns back to the beam, her hands fluttering over it as she tries to find a piece cool enough for her to touch. Emily feels Spencer start to move, so she turns her attention back to helping Toby. It's difficult work, and it's painstakingly slow, but they get him to the hole in the wall. Emily goes through first, and then they half-push, half-drag Toby through. As Spencer starts coming through, she accidentally lets go of him and he overbalances, toppling into Emily and knocking them both over.

She's crushed under his weight, and that combined with smoke inhalation makes it hard to breathe. For a crazy moment she wonders if she's going to die, but then the weight lifts and she sees Spencer and Paige pulling Toby off her. She sits up, spluttering, and looks back to the lodge.

Spencer looks at Paige, confused. "What -"

"It doesn't matter," Emily says, already moving back towards the flames. "She's on our side, I think."

Spencer glances at the lodge, then turns her gaze back onto Paige. "If you hurt Toby," she growls, "if you touch him at all, I will find you, and I will make you wish you'd never been born. Are we clear?"

Paige nods, taking a step back as if the threat had physically hurt her. Satisfied, Spencer follows Emily back into the burning lodge. They step through just as one of the windows breaks, showering them all with glass. Emily's hands fly up to protect her face, and she lets out a cry of pain as hundreds of shards slice her skin. But there's no time to think about that. She pushes forward, a step ahead of Spencer, until they reach the corner.

"I've almost got it," Hanna says, not even looking up. She's lifting the beam by one end, and it's almost high enough for them to get the girls out. Her face is streaked with ash and sweat, but to Emily, she's never looked more beautiful.

Spencer grabs the other end, and together they hold it up high enough for Emily to drag Aria and Alison out by their feet. Alison is unconscious, but Aria is still – barely – awake. The girls let the beam crash to the ground, throwing up a shower of sparks and ash. Emily grabs Aria and helps her up, and Spencer and Hanna pick up Alison. Slowly they all stagger to the door, Emily helping Aria walk and the others carrying Alison between them.

The hole they'd come through has been blocked now, but the wall is becoming weaker by the minute. Emily kicks a hole in the timber, as far away from flames as she can, and then uses her free hand to break off bits until it's big enough for them to fit through. Then she steps back and waits for the others to stumble through. She lets Aria go ahead of her, and then, with a last look back at the crumbling lodge, she scrambles through and falls into the waiting arms of her friends.

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**Seems like things might be over now, right? Of course not. It's Rosewood, after all...**


	49. The End

**Well, here it is, the last proper chapter (there will be an epilogue to follow, which will explain a few things). This has been amazingly fun to write, and I can't thank you guys enough. To everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed, thank you so much. I couldn't have done this without you. At the risk of getting sappy, this has been such a great journey and I'm glad you guys encouraged me to keep writing. And without further ado, here it is. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

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The five of them cling to each other, a mess of tears and ash, burnt clothes and singed hair. Toby is still on the ground, looking the tiniest bit more alive than he had before, watching the reunion with guarded eyes. Jason and Paige stand off to one side, the former with his arms crossed and the latter running her hands through her hair over and over again. The fire rages behind them, but the girls allow themselves this moment of tenuous peace before they break apart and start moving away from the lodge.

Emily staggers forwards, clutching Hanna's arm with one of her hands and holding onto Alison with the other. She doesn't know how this has happened, but right now she doesn't care. She's with her four best friends, and she's just escaped a seemingly inescapable situation. Even the sight of Paige can't destroy the faint stirrings of happiness that are growing in her heart.

But it's not over yet.

Sirens are wailing in the distance, although Emily can hardly hear them over the roaring of the flames. They're engulfing the building, which only has two walls and no windows now. Half of the roof has collapsed, and the sky is obscured by a thick blanket of smoke. The lodge won't be standing much longer. They need to get as far away from it as possible.

As they get further from the lodge, they get closer to Jason and Paige, who still haven't moved. Emily looks at Paige, unsure what she's doing here and even more confused about why she helped them. Was _anyone_ on the A-Team actually evil?

As if to answer her question, someone steps out of the shadows behind Paige. Mona's black hoodie is sprinkled with dirt and leaves, and there's a kind of wild look in her eyes. She glances at Jason, raising her eyebrows, and asks, "Well? Are you just going to let her go?"

The girls pull up short, staring at Mona in confusion. Alison steps away from them, and Hanna and Emily draw closer to each other. Spencer bends down and hauls Toby to his feet, and he leans against her gratefully. Aria wraps her arms around herself, doing her best not to look at Jason. Mona, meanwhile, surveys the whole scene before her with distaste.

Jason clenches his fists, the fire reflected in his eyes. "No."

And suddenly he's running towards where they stand rooted to the spot. He reaches them, barely slowing down, and crashes into Alison, who lets out a surprised yelp. He tackles her to the ground, his hands around her throat.

"You ruined my life," he snarls. "You turned my parents, my friends, the whole town against me."

"J-Jason," she gasps, her arms flailing in front of her. She wraps her hand around his arm and tries to pull him away, but he shrugs it off like it's nothing.

Emily's a second away from intervening – just as soon as her legs start working again – but to her surprise Aria moves first. She dashes across to him and starts pummelling him with her tiny fists. Although it can't possibly hurt, he looks up, his grip around Alison's neck loosening a little.

"Jason," Aria sobs, tugging at his arm for all she's worth. "Please. Just stop. _Stop_!"

He pulls away from her a bit, looking at Alison with murder in his eyes. His grip tightens again.

"Please." She's crying now, the tears leaving tracks down her soot-streaked face. "Jason, you're _killing_ her."

Something in her voice gets through to him. He sits up, letting go of Alison, and then he lets himself fall to the side, not looking as his sister scrambles away towards her friends. He looks up at Aria, stunned.

"I didn't -" he whispers, looking at his hands in horror. "I -"

The sirens are louder now. Aria glances at the direction they're coming from, and Emily can see the indecision in her face. And she knows what she's going to do, a second before Aria does it.

"Get out of here," Aria says urgently.

"What?" His eyes widen.

She looks at her friends, then down at her hands, then back at Jason's face. She meets his eyes, searching, longing. "Go," she says, her voice soft but insistent. "Before they get here."

At last he catches on. He reaches forward, gently brushing her cheek. Then he kisses her on the top of her head, whispers a shaky 'Goodbye', and takes off into the trees. Nobody tries to stop him.

Emily walks forward and carefully puts her hand on Aria's shoulder. Aria flinches a little, but then she stands up and throws her arms around Emily's neck, burying her face in her shoulder. Emily stands there letting her cry, and in that moment she forgets who the real enemy is.

A wild, animal-like shriek goes up from behind them, and they spin around to find Mona charging at them. The next few minutes become so blurred in Emily's memory that she's never quite sure how it happens. Somehow they all dodge Mona, who turns around and starts towards them again, looking half-crazed with her hair in a mess and the fire burning behind her. She moves towards them again, but there's a flash off to Emily's left and suddenly something collides with Mona.

Emily watches as Paige wrestles Mona to the ground and holds her down as the smaller girl tries to claw her way back to the group huddled nearby. They tumble over each other, pulling hair and clawing any limbs they can find. Mona scrambles to her feet, but Paige is only a second behind. She grabs Mona's shoulders and swings her around, so that she's closer to the fire. As she does, Emily catches Paige's eye, and she understands the message there: _This is for you_.

Mona latches onto Paige's arm, trying to push her away, but Paige is strong from months of swim practice. She forces Mona back a step, then another, towards the lodge that's now nothing more than a ball of flame. Emily's heart is in her throat. She just starts to think that she should do something, but it ends too quickly. Mona makes one more desperate bid to escape, but Paige's grip is unyielding. Paige pushes her again, and she loses her balance. At the last moment Paige lets go, but Mona grabs her hand and pulls her.

Horrified, Emily watches as Paige and Mona fall into the fire, their shrieks being drowned out by the approaching sirens. Emily sinks to the ground, barely aware of her friends crowding around her, of the ambulances and fire engines that pull up a few minutes later, of the paramedics who pull her to her feet and examine her for physical injuries with no clue that it's the wounds on her heart that will take years to heal.

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**Things look pretty grim, I know, but I promised you a happy ending. You'll get it, don't worry. On that note, if there's anything you didn't understand or that you want explained, let me know and I'll see if I can stick it in the epilogue.**

**In the meantime, please do check out my other stories. I have some older PLL stories (mostly about Spencer, Aria, and/or Wren); I'm also just starting to publish a Sparia story called 'Flaws of Attraction', and very soon I will embark on an Aria-centric multi-chapter story called 'A is for Arlene'. So I hope to see some of you over in my other stories. Thanks again for your support with this one. :)**


	50. The Epilogue

**So here it is. The final chapter. I'm quite nervous to post this; normally I don't finish stories, let alone share them with anyone. So please go easy on me, okay? I really hope you enjoy the ending. This has been an amazing journey and -dramatic deep breath- I'd like to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and especially reviewed. I couldn't have done it without you.**

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Three months later, Emily is laying on the grass in a field near her house, one arm draped around Hanna's shoulders and the other hand absently plucking flowers from the ground. Hanna sighs and nestles closer to her, and she closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on her face.

"So for my birthday," a voice says, "I was thinking we could all go to that cute little bed and breakfast place just outside of Philly."

"The one where they serve those mini waffles with the maple-flavored ice cream?" someone replies enthusiastically.

"And you can get those amazing shiatsu massages that last for hours and leave you feeling all, what did they say in the catalogue, 'refreshed and rejuvenated'?"

"That's the one. I thought it would be nice to go, you know, just us five."

Emily sits up, shading her eyes with her hands, and looks around at her friends. Spencer is sitting cross-legged, a French textbook open in front of her; she's been attempting to study all morning, but she keeps getting dragged into the conversation anyway. She doesn't seem to mind. Aria is sitting beside her, weaving something out of long grass and a few flowers. She looks up every now and then, as if checking that all her friends are really there and haven't dissipated in the bright sun. Alison is sitting a little bit away from the group, leaning forward and playing with her hair, an excited smile on her face as she makes plans for her upcoming birthday.

After _that night_, Alison and Aria had been taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and some burns. The other three had been allowed home that night, although Spencer had first had to get a cast on her wrist. Toby had remained in hospital for a couple of weeks, but Spencer went to visit him every day. When Ali and Aria had finally been released, they'd all met together in Spencer's barn to discuss what had happened.

Ali had started by apologising to them, which had ensured stunned silence for the remainder of her speech. She had been keeping an eye on them for the past few months, ever since she found out they were –A's target. Mona had known she was alive, and had been using them as bait to lure Ali out. It had worked. When Ali found out Mona was going to kill them, she'd followed her to the lodge and done her best to save them.

At that point the pizza had arrived, so they listened to the next part of Ali's story with mouths full of double-stuffed salami-and-pepperoni pizza. When –A – Mona and Paige – had started tormenting her, she'd tried to find out who they were. But they'd threatened her, and they threatened her friends too. She thought the only way to escape it was to make everyone believe she was dead. It had been horrible, but it was what she thought was best. She'd been living a few towns over as Vivian Darkbloom, an alias that nobody had seen through. But then she'd heard that –A was targeting her friends, and, livid, she'd come back to Rosewood to see what was going on. She'd wanted to reveal herself to them, to let them know she was still alive, but she'd been scared. The most she'd been able to do was come to them in 'dreams' – when they were so out of it that they wouldn't really believe she'd been there.

She had a lot of explaining to do – especially to her parents – but she was starting to slide back into her old life in Rosewood. She seemed different. Softer, somehow, like all that she'd gone through had smoothed her rough edges and made her gentler. Emily liked this new Alison, but she didn't love her; those feelings had long ago faded away. And besides, she had Hanna now.

Over the next few days they'd filled in the rest of the story, with a lot of help from Toby. He'd told them what he knew about the A-Team: who'd done what, who'd hurt whom. It turned out that Paige had been the one to lace Emily's cream (and, later, food) with HGH – she'd been the only one close enough to do it. At first Emily was angry about it, but then she remembered Paige's final moments. _This is for you_. She'd done some unforgivable things, and even if she'd lived Emily would never have been with her again… but she did still love her, in a way, and she would never forget her.

Toby had told the police where to find –A's lair, and the cops had gone and cleared it all out and used the evidence to prove that Mona had been the one threatening Ali and torturing the girls. If she'd survived the fire, she would have been facing a long prison sentence; Radley would never have taken her back.

The girls hadn't heard from Lucas or Jason since their respective disappearances, but that was okay by them. Any reminders of –A, of that horrible period of their lives, were happily forgotten. They moved on with their lives – slowly, painfully, uncertainly. They all took a week off school, and when they'd returned they'd had to face more rumors than the past few years combined. But they dealt with it, together.

They began to pull together fragments of their old lives, weaving them into the lives they hoped they'd get to live now: Hanna got an internship with a local stylist, Aria had started to put together some of her photography to show at a local art gallery, Spencer became class president, picked up all her extracurriculars and even managed to start a support group for students who'd experienced bullying. Emily took up swimming again, even though it reminded her terribly of Paige; but Hanna was there cheering her on at every meet, and it started to become fun again.

Ali enrolled back in school, but this time she was content to keep a low profile; she'd mellowed a bit, and was happy to stay under the radar. She made more of an effort with the girls, too: she helped Hanna write an article on shoes or scarves or something (Emily didn't really care, although she did her best to be excited for her) that ended up getting published in a real magazine; she used some of her savings (you don't spend a lot of money when you're dead) to buy Aria a new, flashy camera, which she absolutely loved; she even co-hosted some of Spencer's bullying support group sessions. And she never missed one of Emily's swim meets, even when she had an appointment with her therapist at the same time.

"You guys," Ali says suddenly, jerking Emily back to the present, "I have something to say."

Everyone turns to her. They're still a little jumpy – with Mona's death the A-Team had disintegrated (she had been Red Coat – but she hadn't let the other members know because she thought they would be more scared of a faceless leader than somebody they knew), but they're still wary, almost like they're waiting for something to come along and ruin their tiny piece of happiness. You never know what's going to happen in Rosewood, after all.

"I know we've all been through hell these past couple years," Ali says, looking down at her hands, which are nervously fiddling with a piece of grass. Then she looks up, meeting each of her friend's eyes before continuing. "But I'm… I'm glad we're all here. I'm glad we got through it, and that we're all friends again. I've missed you all so much, and I'm sorry I never got the chance to be with you as you turned into such amazing girls… but I'm here now. And I want to make the most of it."

Ali has said what they were all thinking: it's great to be together, and now that their circle of friends is complete again, maybe they can have their lives back. But better, this time. The words hang over them, warmer than the sunshine. Nothing else needs to be said. Things will be better now.

At that moment Aria reveals what she's been working on: bracelets weaved out of grass and flowers. She's made one for each of them, and she now proudly hands them out. As Aria ties the bracelet around Emily's wrist, Emily smiles. They'd had bracelets before, which Ali had given to bind them together as friends – and to remind them to keep their secret. But now it was different. These were to remind them of how far they'd come, how much they'd been through, and the fact that it had brought them all back together. Back to where they're meant to be. Aria sits back on her heels, grinning at them, and they all grin back. The moment is perfect.

"Well," Spencer says after a couple of minutes, closing her textbook and shoving it in her bag with one still-bandaged hand, "I should get going. Toby and I are going out to lunch."

"Say hi for us," Hanna says cheerfully.

Spencer waves to them and then disappears down the hill. A few minutes of pleasant silence pass before Aria's phone goes off. As she reads the message, her eyes light up and her cheeks turn pink.

"Is that Holden?" Ali asks, lightly teasing.

Aria ducks her head, her bangs falling over the barely-visible burn scars on her cheek. "He wants me to meet him."

Since Jason's 'disappearance', Aria had been getting closer to her old friend Holden. It was perfectly clear to everyone else that they liked each other, and the girls all had bets on when he would ask her out already.

"What are you waiting for? Go get him, tiger," Ali laughs, tossing her blond hair back over her shoulder and winking at her friend.

"I'll see you guys later." Aria grabs her bag and skips off.

Ali cocks her eyebrow, shaking her head slightly. "That girl is really weird," she says affectionately. Then she looks at her watch and leaps to her feet. "Shoot, I'm late. We're still meeting at my place after dinner tonight, right?"

The girls nod, and Ali waves to them, running backwards a few steps, before she turns and jogs away. Emily watches her until she's out of sight, and then she sighs.

"Hey," Hanna says, propping herself up on her elbows and looking at her girlfriend (they'd made it official about two months ago). "Everything okay?"

Emily thinks about all they've been through, about all the things they still have to work through. She looks at the scattering of scars on her arm, from the broken window at the lodge. Hanna sometimes runs her fingers along them and say _My hero_ in a melodramatic way, which always makes Emily laugh.

She thinks about how Ali had to fake her own death just to keep them all safe. She thinks about how Spencer broke down and ended up in Radley, checking out of that hellhole only to step right into a living hell; about how she almost lost the love of her life, who's still undergoing physical therapy. She thinks about how Aria was betrayed by the man she thought she loved, and how she'd had to lie to the police about what had happened. She thinks about how Hanna still sometimes has nightmares about the night she was kidnapped, how she never quite forgave herself for befriending Mona, how her perfect features were now marred by a small burn scar just under her eye from where she'd run into the lodge after Emily.

And she thinks about everything that's happened to her: her car crash, finding out Paige was on the A-Team, joining the team herself, lying to her friends, not being sure who to trust, fighting with Hanna and Aria over secrets she never should have kept, kissing Jason, dumping Paige, working for Mona, almost getting killed and being the reason for her friends' deaths too…

But then she thinks about all the things they have left in front of them. Senior year. Graduation. Going to college – and finally escaping Rosewood. But also the smaller things. Taking Hanna to prom. Going to Aria's art gallery exhibition. Congratulating Spencer on getting valedictorian (was there ever any doubt?). Going to Ali's birthday party. And this moment, right here and now, with the girl she loves.

She turns to Hanna, smiling.

"You know," she says, as they lay back down on the grass and look up at the pellucid blue sky, "I think, for once, it is."

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**Well, there you go. What did you think? I'm working on quite a few other stories right now, so if you liked this one you might like to have a look at my others sometime. I'm also still tempted to write a companion to this story, with a chapter from the perspective of each of the A-Team members explaining a bit about how and why they joined. If anyone would be interested in that, leave a review or PM me and let me know. Thanks again, everyone. I hope you liked the story. :)**


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